ianlouisiana Review of The Black Rider

The Black Rider (1954)

Has the good - natured innocence of a romping spaniel puppy

[5/10 · 22 June 2008]

Apparently in 1954 you could make an atomic bomb from articles obtained "sur le continong" (presumably in a plain brown wrapper)and end up with an object no larger than an artillery shell.Of course only a foreigner would want to do so and then let the thing off somewhere in Dorset(going by Mr K.Connor's attempt at the standard Rank "rural accent").I should have thought it might have caused about £15 worth of damage from the state of the film set.We do eventually get a glimpse of this Doomsday Weapon which resembles something Valerie Singleton might have put together when she was in Infants School. However,you discount Cub Reporter Jerry Marsh - a rather portly Mr Hanley former Army Dispatch Rider - at your peril and the best laid plans of mice,men and megalomaniacs gang aft agley,fortunately for half of the West Coast of England. You might think local newspaper owner/editor/printer(Mr.L. Dwyer - splendidly grumpy) might be pleased to have such a fine young man as a prospective son - in - law,but there's no pleasing some people. That nice Mr Hanley belongs to a motor cycle club whose members clearly do not go around biting the heads off live chickens and together they track down the gang renting the local Manor House to assemble their bomb which rather begs the question why - if it's that small - they couldn't have smuggled it all in in one hit rather than a bit at a time ,but hey,why spoil the fun? "The Black Raider" echoes back to the era when very few people had motor cars.Motor cycles were widespread,Combinations for the family day out. It is significant that the only character with a motor car is villain Mr L.Jeffries who has a sinister black Rolls Royce and a chauffeur who looks a lot like Raymond Massey. It would be unfair to be anything but gently chiding to this movie because it has the good - natured innocence of a romping spaniel puppy. It belongs to a never - never England of country inns,firm - jawed Customs men with Webley revolvers and blokes who wear sports jackets with open - necked shirts on the beach. And there's not a Honda,Kawasaki or Suzuki in sight.