A MATTER OF CHOICE is an interesting piece of social drama mixed with more traditional crime and thriller aspects which viewers of British B-cinema will be used to. It's directed by the hard-working Vernon Sewell and tells an atypical story about a couple of skirt-chasing young men whose lives fatefully cross with those of an adulterous couple one night. The ponderous narration at the film's opening alerts us to the fact that this is a morality piece, exploring how a single trivial decision can lead unknowingly into disaster.The problem with the film is that it's very slowly paced and the main plot elements don't occur until half the movie has elapsed. The viewer is saddled with the two youths for much of the running time and they don't make for much in the way of company, stuck in the same kind of superficial rut as the characters in THE DAMNED, BEAT GIRL, THE SYSTEM, and a dozen other similar works of social commentary released during the era.The second half includes the police investigation and is more involved. There's a nice role for Ballard Berkeley, for once cast against type as a cuckolded husband. Anthony Steel (ALBERT, R. N.) does well as the adulterer too. The ending is solid, but doesn't feel of much consequence really, and the whole thing has dated somewhat since release. As such, A MATTER OF CHOICE is a mildly interesting curio, nothing more.

This is an entertaining drama.It contains a whole raft of coincidences but nevertheless makes them in an entertaining fashion.After all Anthony Steel is in the car with his lover when he dashes out to try and catch the lads,leaving his overcoat and insulin in the car.The lads happen to run into the mews where the lover lives with Ballard Berkeley.Having laid him out they then park him in of all places Berkeley's garage.Berkeley comes home and leaves his car by the car doors so the lads cannot get out that way,and so on.Interesting to see Anthony Steel on his way down after being the pin up boy of the British Cinema in the 1950s.Berkley on the other hand,whilst nearing the end of his career had one more shining moment as the major in Fawlty Towers.

Two young lads, Mike (Malcolm Gerard) and Tony (Michael Davis), go for a night out in London in search of girls. Meanwhile the attractive young wife of a middle aged, wealthy businessman called Charles Grant, Lisa (Jeanne Moody), is having an affair with John Crighton (Anthony Steel). He would like Lisa to divorce her husband and marry him but she is keen on the good life that her husband provides with his wealth and insists that their affair should continue to be secret. Meanwhile, Mike and Tony cross swords with a police constable when a vending machine swallows Tony's two bob. He hits it violently in a vain attempt to get his money back but when the PC tries to restrain him, Tony accidentally pushes in in front of a passing car drove by Lisa with John in the passenger seat. The lads flee with John in pursuit but in panic Tony throws a brick at their pursuer knocking him out. They hide the body and themselves in a garage, which happens to be left unlocked. In another strange twist of fate that garage happens to belong to Charles Grant, Lisa's husband! Mike and Tony debate about what to do about the unconscious John while Lisa gives a statement to the police but lies about her lover's involvement stating that he was a complete stranger who came from the other side of the street and only mentions Mike and Tony who ran off. Mike and Tony use the telephone inside the house to call an ambulance with the view of making a run for it afterwards but things are further complicated when Charles comes home. He parks his car in front of the garage door therefore blocking their proposed escape route. In a state of dread, the pair hide in a closet and not long after Lisa arrives home to her husband. Eventually the ambulance turns up and an understandably bewildered Charles shows the paramedics into his garage where they find Crighton unconscious. It transpires that he is a diabetic who has gone into a coma and will die if they cannot get a dose of Insulin to him in time. Charles suspects that his wife knows the man as he detects a glimmer of recognition in her face. When the paramedics have taken Crighton away and the couple have gone to bed, Mike and Tony attempt to escape through the front door but set off the burglar alarm. Charles apprehends them and sends for the police and the two lads have no option but to come clean. It turns out that the PC was not seriously hurt but Charles asks them a question, "Did you specifically see the man get out of my wife's car or is it possible that he came from behind?". Due to their panic at the time the lads are not sure and agree that it is possible. Obviously Lisa is relieved as her involvement with Crighton looks set to remain secret. But another cruel twist of fate is about to occur with devastating consequences...An interesting second feature from writer-director Vernon Sewell that has a bit of a chequered history. The film had its fair share of production problems and was shelved for three years before it got a brief showing in a few cinemas but it sank without trace. It turned up on TV a few times during the eighties but saw the light of day again in 2009 when it was given a DVD release paired with Charles Saunders' crime drama, Jungle Street (1961).Despite the film's chequered history and long absence it emerges as a neat programmer, which is slightly above the standard of your average b-pic. For once it actually does what it says on the can as it really does turn out to be a matter of choice for the main characters. The film is basically a minor moral fable about human beings and the choices in life we sometimes have to make and that whatever decision we choose, right or wrong, we have to face the consequences. The most interesting character in the film is Lisa (played by Jeanne Moody) who wants her lover, John Crighton, but also wants to keep her wealthy husband since he keeps her in the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed. John neatly sums it up when he says to her "You want the best of both worlds" during one of their secret rendezvous at his flat. But through the circumstances that unravel she ultimately ends up losing everything. The film may not be anything groundbreaking but it certainly is engaging, which is something rare in second features. The acting may not be exactly inspiring but everybody plays their part more than adequately and the film is directed with pace by Vernon Sewell.

It's been about 15 years since I saw this film but I recall it was actually a very good film. It deals with the implications of everyday decisions, in this case the decision made by two people over which route to take home, and how these fateful decisions can effect a wide circle of people. Low budget and black and white with no standout acting performances, it is nevertheless coherent and thought provoking.