Five Minutes to Live (1961)

A gang of bank robbers terrorize a small town by knocking on doors and then killing whoever answers.

Director:

Bill Karn

Writers:

Cay Forester (screenplay), Palmer Thompson (based on a story by),

Stars:

Johnny Cash, Donald Woods, Cay Forester

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Cash	...	Johnny Cabot
Donald Woods	...	Ken Wilson
Cay Forester	...	Nancy Wilson
Pamela Mason	...	Ellen Harcourt
Vic Tayback	...	Fred Dorella
Ron Howard	...	Bobby Wilson (as Ronnie Howard)
Merle Travis	...	Max
Midge Ware	...	Doris Johnson
Norma Varden	...	Priscilla Auerbach
Leslie Kimmell	...	Mr. Johnson (as Leslie Kimmel)
Marge Waller	...	Secretary
Patricia Lynn	...	Gert
Frances Flower	...	Irma
Hanna Landy	...	Carol
Cynthia Flower	...	Girl Bowling

Storyline

Originally released in 1961 as Five Minutes to Live, this low-budget crime drama was later re-released as Door-to-Door Maniac. Fred narrates the film in flashback, detailing a suburban bank robbery that goes awry. In his simple plan, he hires a hard-up hood, Johnny Cabot to take the wife of the bank's vice president hostage. Cabot will hold her until he gets a call alerting him that Fred has been successful in getting ransom money. Cabot waits, and watches the Wilson house as the husband leaves for the bank and their young son heads off to school. Posing as a door-to-door guitar instructor, he forces his way into the house and takes Nancy Wilson hostage. At the bank, Fred talks his way into Ken Wilson's office, and presents his personal check for $70,000, intending that Wilson will withdraw the funds to cover the check as a ransom for his wife. He has Wilson call home to prove that Nancy is being held by the unstable Cabot, and gives Wilson 5 minutes to make his decision. If Fred ...

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Plot Keywords:

bank | house | police | hostage | bank robber | 

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Taglines:

A woman's price drops fast as the time limit ticks away!

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Genres:

Crime | Music | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1964 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Door-to-Door Maniac

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Somera Productions-Flower Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 74 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Johnny Cabot: I like a messy bed.

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Connections

Referenced in When a Stranger Calls (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Five Minutes To Live"
Written by Johnny Cash
Solo Guitar by Merle Travis (as Merl Travis)

User Reviews

Nasty Thriller With -- Wait: Vic Tayback, Ron Howard, and Johnny Cash?

This is a tough little movie. It would work quite well without names. But let's face it: The leading man is the draw. Johnny Cash, in 1961, looking a little like Elvis, as a ruthless killer. A killer, to be sure, who sings the title song and whom we see playing guitar.

Donald Woods is a dead ringer for the Darren character in "Bewitched." He is a complacent suburban dad. Cay Forrester is just right as his upwardly mobile blonde wife. Ron Howard is very cute as their son. (And Pamela Mason turns in a good acting job but is a little implausible as Woods's mistress.) Before he got the job cooking for Alice, Tayback was apparently a crook. A pretty mean one, at that. And here, he has hired Cash to hold banker Woods's wife hostage. (Before he takes the job, Cash has to dump his girlfriend, the greedy Doris, AKA Dory.) For an obviously low budget movie, this does its job neatly. And it holds up very well 45 years after it was released.