SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

macbrian-07429 I came across this gem recently, having not seen it before. A great stellar cast of experience balances nicely with the youth on trial. Good story, and captivating. Recommended!

Tthomaskyte I first saw this when it came out in 1962 when I was almost the same age as the characters on trial. As the film opens we are presented with four resentful and aggressive looking young men on trial for robbery and murder. They are all wearing Italian style suits reflecting the fashion of the time and immediately give the impression of being thugs. We then hear the prosecution's case as delivered by Richard Todd and see flashbacks of the young men (well played by Dudley Sutton, Jess Conrad, Ronald Lacey and Tony Garnett) cutting what appears to be a menacing swathe through London. Next we see the all the same events but from the defendants' point of view but they are now placed in different context by the showing of what happens before and after the events described by the prosecution witnesses. It is a device that has been used before but it still grips here as we are encouraged to challenge our own prejudices. It demonstrates that whenever you see a situation you should not make judgements without knowing the entire history of events.

Marlburian It's all been said already in previous comments. The main attraction of this film was the parade of well-known British characters of 50 years ago, with nearly everyone being readily identifiable. The big disappointment was Richard Todd, whose career by then was past its peak; he was eclipsed by Robert Morley and Dudley Sutton. The latter deserves a special mention; in the first part of the film he does come over as a thuggish yob; then, as the facts are presented from the youths' angle, his on-screen persona changes to that of an almost sympathetic lad.I had my doubts as to the authenticity of the court proceedings, and I didn't quite follow the attitude changes of Todd as the prosecutor.With so much debate now going on in Britain about "feral youth" (to use a perhaps provocative term), the film posed various questions that are still being asked today, and it would seem that since they were posed in 1962 society has not found the answers.

nappieb The writings of Charles Dickens are known, apart from their obvious entertainment value, as chronicles of the times in which he lived highlighted by over-the-top characterizations and true-to-life environments. So it is with this movie.I won't dwell on the plot - suffice it to say that it's presentation is sufficiently original to hold the viewer virtually spellbound in an emotional roller-coaster (big dipper to you Brits!) Rather, the value of this movie is the tantalizing peek it affords us to a Great Britain in general, and a London in particular, immediately pre-Beatles.This movie is a "must see" for those who wish to visit or re-live the London of 1962! It's a gritty, no holds barred look at the time between Harold (You-never-had-it-so-good) Macmillan's nineteen fifties and the Swinging Sixties.