Purely Joyful Movie!

Nice effects though.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

BREAKAWAY is the second of a couple of detective films starring the ubiquitous Tom Conway (brother of George Sanders) as a private eye who gets caught up in a double case involving a kidnapped woman and a special formula to combat metal fatigue that both the east and west are keen to get their hands on. Invariably the two cases are linked and with a aid of a few allies, Conway is soon hot on the trail of spies and the like.Although it passes the time reasonably well, it's fair to say that BREAKWAY is an unremarkable British crime film. Other, even lower budgeted films did the whole private eye thing a lot better, for example the two Toff films made with John Bentley. Conway does have some basic charisma as the lead but he's getting on a bit here and he looks every inch his age.The supporting cast is as interesting as ever for a British B-production. Honor Blackman is dolled up to look particularly glamorous - probably as glamorous as she ever looked, at least until GOLDFINGER. Michael Balfour contributes one of his patented 'buddy of the lead' role and has some good comic moments. American star John Colicos plays pretty much the same role as he did in the same year's PASSPORT TO TREASON, and boxer Freddie Mills is the bartender. There's also a nice cameo for Arthur Lowe. BREAKAWAY features a handful of action scenes including fist fights and one decently-portrayed car accident, but it's slim pickings for this particular genre.

Tom Conway had of course starred as The Falcon.That series ,though only B features look positively stylish when compared with this truly lame effort.Conway looks as if he couldn't punch his way out of a paper bag.Michael Balfour has the silliest wig going,and his lines are almost as inept.There is also ex boxer Fredie Mills in the part of a barmen.He couldn't act for toffees.Honor Blackman is totally wasted.the plot is complex but totally uninvolving.It is the standard plot for the mid 1950s,relating to commercial espionage.there are many familiar faces but little inspiration.Incidentally watch closely when Seton comes out of his club ,gets into a car and drives away.If you look in the reflection in the boot of the car you will see a member of the crew signalling to Mills to make his entrance.

This isn't that bad, Maybe because I've seen Russian born Tom Conway in worse films. It's the usual type of Baker/Berman thrillers, which they continued to do on television years later with Roger Moore as 'The Saint' This starts in Berlin with Johnny Matlock going from east to west. In West Berlin he meets Frida and her dying brother Professor Dohlman, who gives him a formula for his brother to help reduce metal fatigue. After some trouble in his hotel room he flies back to England with private investigator 'Duke' Martin in the passenger seat beside him. At the airport in London Johnny meets his girlfriend Diane (pronounced Dee-Ann!)who is also his brother Michael's secretary. 'Duke' meets his friend Barney (Michael Balfour). Tom Conway plays 'Duke' in exactly the same character he played earlier in 'The Falcon' series of films from 1942-1946 when he took over from his elder brother George Sanders. After Matlock and Diane drive away from the airport they stop for the usual broken down car in the middle of the road. They are then set upon by two kidnappers who disappear with his girlfriend. After the fight 'Duke' goes to the nightclub 'The Crystal Jug Club' to meet Diane, instead he meets her sister Paula Grant (Honor Blackman) who tells 'Duke' that her name is Paula Jackson. Being the suave gentleman 'Duke' offers to take her home. After dropping her off he follows her by car to Diane's home. After this 'Duke' goes home where he meets the two kidnappers who have guns, which they then use to rob him of Diane's handbag. The next morning Webb (the owner of 'The Crystal Jug Club') visits 'Duke' and tries to buy the formula from him. When Webb leaves, 'Duke' visits Michael Matlock who is Johnny's older brother. After more trouble from Webb and the Kidnappers 'Duke' visits his friend (ex-boxer and barman at the club) Pat. While there they meet Johnny Matlock who throws Barney into the Thames river. An odd thing then happens as 'Duke' gets a phone call to meet Paula at Diane's but no one else has been there from the time before but it's totally cleaned up even though the place was turned over by the kidnappers looking for the formula. 'Duke' investigates further and finds out that MaCallister is involved and that the man behind Webb and the kidnappers is Johnny Matlock's brother Michael. He then goes and saves Diane from Webb. In the last five minutes they find the formula hidden in the middle of Diane's Lipstick. Webb escapes but the police turn up and chase Webb until he crashes and they arrest him. It's one of the usual 'quota quickies' which were turned out at that time and it's like most of Baker/Berman films in that there's punch ups and car chases around London. It's a great time waster at just over an hour, you would only get bored if it was twice the length like a modern film.

This is a modest British B thriller of the mid-fifties, which contains no remarkable performance. Its chief interest is historical, in that it shows some interesting shots of London at the time, and gives an extended view of what London's airport was like in 1955, including inside the hangars. The urbane and suave Tom Conway plays yet another gentleman detective, but he seems to have no zest for it this time, and his flirtations with women have lost their zing entirely, as he is getting on a bit and showing it. The plot concerns commercial espionage. Everyone wants to get hold of a new chemical formula to combat metal fatigue in aircraft and sell it for a fortune. Various chaps wave guns unconvincingly, someone gets shot in the shoulder, several unscrupulous people ooze greed enough to make us believe them, a girl is kidnapped without looking particularly frightened, and the plot is complex enough not to be boring. Honor Blackman has a major role, looking glamorous and intense, but has no magic. Arthur Lowe, later popular on television, does well in a cameo. Michael Balfour is silly as Conway's sidekick. This is no classic, but it is not hopeless.