Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Spoonixel Amateur movie with Big budget

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Robert J. Maxwell London in the mid 50s. Three thieves have plotted a bank robbery. They slip into the building expecting to find it empty but two of the staff have stayed late and in order to keep them out of the way the robbers tie and gag them, then lock them away in the bank's strongroom -- that's a "vault" to you and me.A long weekend lies ahead. There isn't enough air to sustain two captives in the air tight vault.To ensure the rescue of the captives before their oxygen runs out, one of the thieves is detailed to drive the bank manager's car to a distant phone booth, call the police, tip them to the situation, and tell them the keys to the vault will be found in the phone booth. The police will then retrieve the keys, release the two captives, and no murder charge will be hanging like a black cloud over the miscreants.Well, these three crooks are no brighter than they have to be. The guy with the keys, the one driving the manager's car, totals the vehicle and is killed before he can make the call, which is very foolish of him. It leaves the two remaining thieves in an uncomfortable situation. If they don't release the captives, they'll die. But they don't have the keys to the vault because the dead man had the keys in his pocket. A visit to the mortuary and a threat of violence to the coroner do them no good. It's Friday afternoon, and nobody will be at the bank until Tuesday, by which time the two captives will no longer need air.I think that's about as far as I'll go with the plot. It's not an unfamiliar narrative, either in feature films or television series, but the reason it's familiar is that it works. It's innately suspenseful. Will they get the two innocents out alive? And if they do, what will it cost them. Meanwhile the clock is ticking.It's an inexpensive film. Sometimes I could almost believe they had only one set and just rearranged the furniture. The acting is at about the same level as an ordinary person might achieve with one or two days' tutoring. I've given better performances myself, most notably in the undersung art house classic "Traxx." It's true. I was the drunken cowboy in the whorehouse. My kid was the little Oriental boy who was startled by a door being burst open. Two of the performers do stand out, though. The head honcho of the gang of three is a young man with a most peculiar face -- not ugly, just unusual. You'll see what I mean if you watch the movie. The other memorable character is the blond secretary who is locked away with the manager in the bank's vault. She has an attractive face, although it consists mostly of nose.There's nothing outstanding about the movie. The narrative works because it's irresistible, but the performances are about what you'd find in a high school play in East Orange, New Jersey. Well, there are some grace notes. A cleaning lady hums a snatch from a Beethoven symphony as she mops the floor. Note, in particular, the coroner or whatever he is. The guy huffs and blubbers his way through a tense scene, and he's hilariously bad. The investigating detective is given the best line of dialog. When the mortician complains that one of the thieves threatened to kill him in an argument about the keys, the policeman gets to ask, "Well, did he?"

calvinnme This British suspense film is fantastic on every level. Two employees are closing up a bank before a long holiday weekend when in pop three masked robbers. They force the bank employees downstairs and get them to open the "strongroom" where all of the money is. The robbers get their money, bind and gag the two employees, and then something happens they didn't plan on. Two cleaning women appear upstairs. The robbers know they can't get away in the time it will take for the bank employees to escape and alert the cleaning women, so they panic and throw the employees into the airtight strongroom and make their getaway.On the way back to their hideout, the leader, Griff (Darren Nesbitt), comes up with a plan to rescue the bank employees, who will suffocate by midnight if not found. He and one of the robbers will go back to the hideout, while the third drives to the train station, calls the police from there and tells them of the robbery, and then drives back to the hideout. Griff figures the police will get nothing from tracing a call to such a busy public place, they get to keep the money, and the bankers are saved.It is all looking good until the police show up at the hideout - which is actually just an apartment. They are not there to arrest the two robbers. Instead they are there to tell them that their companion died instantaneously in an auto accident while driving towards the station. You see, one of the robbers is the dead robber's brother and next of kin. Thus the now dead robber could never have made the call. And worse the keys to the strongroom are in the morgue with the third robber's body.These two guys don't mind stealing, and they don't mind threatening to get what they want, but they do not want a murder rap. At the same time the two bank employees are trying idea after idea to either break free from the strongroom or at least get an air hole to the place. Plus they both have to deal with the fact that although they are both expected at events later in the day, nobody has noticed their absence enough to inquire as to what happened to either of them, so there are the expected tales of regret that people often tell when they feel they are at the end of life.How will this all work out? Watch and find out. It really is a gripping thriller and extremely well acted.

ronevickers "Strongroom" is a classic example of how a supposedly insignificant "B" film, can catch the viewers attention, and hold onto it like a vice. Of many such films produced in the UK, during the mid-50's/early 60's, it is quite probably the best. The story, outlined by other reviewers, is quite novel and the acting is generally top notch, given the film's limited budget. The script, and more importantly the direction, is absolutely first class and Vernon Sewell does an excellent job in cranking up the tension throughout the film. The ending is hard-hitting and unexpected. All-in-all, a super little movie that won't disappoint anyone who seeks it out.

jamesraeburn2003 Scrap metal merchants, Griff (Derren Nesbitt), Len (Keith Faulkner) and Alec (William Morgan Sheppard) decide to turn to crime for a one off job. They pull a £30,000 raid on a bank on Easter Saturday and lock the manager, Mr Spencer (Colin Gordon) and his secretary, Ms Taylor (Ann Lynn) in the vault. They flee but Griff realises that the pair will not be discovered until Tuesday and as the vault is air tight, they will have suffocated by then. Initially, Len and Alec are uncaring but Griff persuades them that if they do not inform the police they will have a double murder on their hands. They decide that Alec will take Mr Spencer's car out of the area, inform the police anonymously and leave the vault keys in the phone box. Meanwhile, Griff and Len will see to it that the money is put in a safe place. However, in an unfortunate twist of fate, Alec becomes involved in a car crash and dies. Griff and Len are now faced with a dilemma. They go to the mortuary to collect Alec's personal effects, which include the vault keys, but the attendant refuses to break official procedures and will not hand them over without the proper authority. Griff and Len realise that they will have to break back into the bank and cut a hole in the vault door using their cutting equipment from the yard and feed in oxygen through a tube connected to a cannister. But all the while time is running out - fast!Strongroom was produced as a low budget b-picture but when it opened in the West End, it got such good press that it was elevated to a-feature status. It is not hard to see why as it has enough good qualities to stand on its own. The screenplay by Richard Harris offers several opportunities for suspense and Vernon Sewell's direction certainly rises to the occasion ensuring that the audience is kept on the edge of their seats. Tense moments include the scene in which Griff and Len have broken back into the bank and are busy cutting into the vault door only to be interrupted by two cops. They are seized and about to be dragged off to jail and Griff pleads with them explaining the circumstances. But are his efforts going to be in vain? Is it already too late? The picture does have some weak moments, the scenes between Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn trapped in the safe border on the absurd at times like when Gordon hacks away into the concrete floor of the vault with a pair of scissors and a handle from a cheque perforating machine to expose a sewer pipe, which he hopes to break open to let some air in and he manages it! I found that just a little far fetched but on the whole, Strongroom is better than your average British b-pic especially in terms of the suspense aspect and performances are good all round. Happily the film is now available on DVD.