THE BIG CHANCE - 1957 UK
A good little 59 minute programmer from the U.K. that just rockets along at break-neck speed. William Russell is a clerk in a travel agency who dreams of far off places. He gets to see others travel the world while he is stuck at home with his dull life. He would leave his nagging wife, Penelope Bartly, if he could only afford it.
Then in the space of 24 hours everything changes. It is a long weekend and the life he has dreamed of seems to fall into place, Money, travel and a beautiful woman. First, Russell's wife leaves him, then, the contents of the company safe are left in his care for the weekend. He has access to a client's passport and ticket to Panama. It is now or never he decides and loads the cash into a briefcase. He switches out the photo in the passport for one of his own and heads for the airport.
Now things start to go wrong of course. The flight is delayed till the next day because of bad weather. Then he hooks up with stunning brunette, Adrienne Corri. Corri was taking the flight to Panama to get away from her older husband. The two start talking and Russell thinks he has found the woman of his dreams. She is not.
They head off to grab a room and things take a decided turn for the worse. Corri soon has him up to his eyeballs in fistfights, break and enters, hit and runs etc. She even dumps him on the side of the road and steals the cash. He manages to retrieve the cash and return it to the company safe before it is missed. He returns home to find the wife back and all is the same as before the weekend. His dull life and dull wife don't seem so bad after all.
This film moves along like a rabbit with a fox after it. Not bad at all for a low rent programmer and is much better than I make it sound. William Russell most will recall from the very first DOCTOR WHO series. He did the first 70 plus episodes. Miss Corri some will recall from her bit in A CLOCKWORK ORNAGE.
A good little 59 minute programmer from the U.K. that just rockets along at break-neck speed. William Russell is a clerk in a travel agency who dreams of far off places. He gets to see others travel the world while he is stuck at home with his dull life. He would leave his nagging wife, Penelope Bartly, if he could only afford it.
Then in the space of 24 hours everything changes. It is a long weekend and the life he has dreamed of seems to fall into place, Money, travel and a beautiful woman. First, Russell's wife leaves him, then, the contents of the company safe are left in his care for the weekend. He has access to a client's passport and ticket to Panama. It is now or never he decides and loads the cash into a briefcase. He switches out the photo in the passport for one of his own and heads for the airport.
Now things start to go wrong of course. The flight is delayed till the next day because of bad weather. Then he hooks up with stunning brunette, Adrienne Corri. Corri was taking the flight to Panama to get away from her older husband. The two start talking and Russell thinks he has found the woman of his dreams. She is not.
They head off to grab a room and things take a decided turn for the worse. Corri soon has him up to his eyeballs in fistfights, break and enters, hit and runs etc. She even dumps him on the side of the road and steals the cash. He manages to retrieve the cash and return it to the company safe before it is missed. He returns home to find the wife back and all is the same as before the weekend. His dull life and dull wife don't seem so bad after all.
This film moves along like a rabbit with a fox after it. Not bad at all for a low rent programmer and is much better than I make it sound. William Russell most will recall from the very first DOCTOR WHO series. He did the first 70 plus episodes. Miss Corri some will recall from her bit in A CLOCKWORK ORNAGE.