Five Minutes to Live

1961 "How could she extend the moments he had given her?"
5.4| 1h13m| G| en
Details

A guitar playing killer terrorizes a housewife while his partner robs the bank where her husband works.

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American International Pictures

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Reviews

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined
Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?
Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
shirley3151-985-726659 This does not make sense. Why would the plot say that these killers went door to door killing whoever answered the door. That is a down right lie. No where in the movie did this ever happen!!!! It had only one motive, one event, no maniacs going door to door. I just wanted to know why it is stated that a band of killers go from door to door killing the people who answer the door. There is no band, just two characters who are involved with this bank robbery. There is basically one hostage and one ransom plea of $70,000. If you are going to rob a bank, you would not use your real name, would you? The manager of the bank discovers a wanted poster with the robber's name and picture. Too obvious.
evening1 This is one incredible film. I'd never even heard of Johnny Cash as an actor before catching this on TCM last week.The plot line is irresistible and to have Cash as the bad guy…you couldn't come up with a more intriguing scenario.I couldn't help thinking of Elvis as I watched this spectacle. He always took good-guy roles in his silly movies but there's none of that nonsense here. Cash is an appalling creature in "Five," a killer and a sadist.Cash's cold victimizer is nothing short of mesmerizing. His every interaction keeps you watching and guessing.This movie is odd in its use of black humor. The cheating bank official cynically fantasizes about using the robbers as wife killers, and just as crudely seems to re-embrace his neglected spouse after her ordeal.And talk about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder coming of age AFTER this movie came out. Boy, does the wife bounce back quickly! This movie definitely leaves me wondering whether Cash made any other films. If so, it's hard to imagine him outdoing this performance. Wow!
Michael_Elliott Five Minutes to Live (1961) ** (out of 4) Bizarre thriller about a couple thieves who take a woman (Cay Forrester) hostage to get money from her husband (Donald Woods) who just happens to be Vice President at a local bank. One of the bad guys (Johnny Cash) stays behind with the wife while the other goes to the bank and unlucky for the woman, this guy is a raving maniac who enjoys to torture women. Being a fan of Cash I had always wanted to check this film out and now that I've seen it I'm really not sure what to think. On one hand, it's pretty silly story-wise as there are all sorts of plot holes in the thieves big plans but on the other hand you have some rather outrageous scenes of violence that will put the previous year's PSYCHO to shame. As a "thriller" the film works in parts because the violence is rather shocking. Cash not only physically abuses her with countless slaps, throws to the floor and pistol-whips but he also comes on to her sexuality and not in a consensual manor. The scenes of violence are rather tense but at the same time I can't help but think in some ways that the film is a spoof. Now, what I consider a spoof might hit others as bad film-making but just take a look at the editing here. The film goes for these over dramatic moments by quick edits to the actor's face and then we get silly one-liners. Some of the dialogue given out must have been seen as extremely silly as I'm doubtful a master writer like Cash would be saying them as something real. As far as Cash's performance goes, it's not too bad. He's obviously not a trained actor and he makes some silly facial gestures throughout but for the most part he comes off believable as this psycho. Character actor Woods has seen better days but he isn't too bad. Forrester on the other hand is pretty bad and many of her tears come off incredibly fake and at times laughable. We even get a young Ron Howard playing the couple's child. Cash plays his guitar throughout the film and he even sings the title song, which never made it onto any of his Greatest Hits collections for obvious reasons. To say this film is uneven would be an understatement but it's so bizarre that it's easy to recommend to fans of horror, film noir or just downright strange movies.
The_Void This film is best remembered for the fact that it stars country legend Johnny Cash is his first film role. This actually lowered my expectations for the film, as I'm not a massive fan of Cash and films that go down in history for the casting of a non-actor are often not very good...but this film has far more going for it than it's lead actor, and overall I've got to say that it's criminal that this hasn't won itself a more esteemed place in cinema history. It's clear that the film was shot on a very low budget as it features a very grainy black and white picture, a small central cast and some suspect acting from all corners; but all this stuff doesn't matter, as the screenplay is well written and there's a lot of fun to be had with this film. The plot follows a couple of guys who think they've discovered the perfect get rich quick scheme. One of them pretends to be a salesman in order to get into the house of the president of the women's association, while the other one pretends to be a customer at her husband's bank. After explaining the situation to her husband, they offer him a trade; his money or his wife.Overall, it has to be said that this little thriller isn't very original as there have been a lot of films in this same vein; but Bill Karn's film approaches it's subject with a fresh view, and the way that the director continually ensures the tone is always bleak provides a major highlight. It's easy to believe that the central character is in danger through Cash's loose cannon performance, and the way that the action focuses on two central locations; the family home and the bank, ensures that the plot always takes centre stage, and it is made interesting through its memorable cast of characters. Even though Cash wasn't predominantly an actor, his performance is really good and the way that the director lets him play his guitar makes best use of him. And on a personal note, I think it's good of Cash to put himself at risk to play a sadistic maniacal character. The rest of the support cast play second fiddle to the musical genius, but each one gives a good turn and this ensures that the film is elevated above its low budget thriller status. It all boils down to an exciting and satisfying climax that both deals fitting comeuppance, and rounds it all off nicely. Overall, this film is well worth tracking down and comes highly recommended!