BOND OF FEAR is one of those low key, low budget British thrillers that I love so much. It feels very much like a British reworking of the US thriller THE HITCH-HIKER albeit made on a much smaller scale and with a typically British down-to-earth twist. The main characters are an ordinary family (husband, wife, two kids, one of each gender) who embark on a caravan holiday to France by way of Dover, little realising that a murderer is hiding out in their caravan.It's a simple tale, well told by director Henry Cass (a steadfast B-picture director whose highlight other than this is probably the full-blooded Hammer horror copy BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE). The script is by the ubiquitous John Gilling with support from comedy writer Norman Hudis. The tale brings to life the English countryside and the journey structure of the narrative means that the viewer never gets bored during the brief running time.Dermot Walsh is excellently cast as the resourceful father caught up in a nightmare world, but the real stand out is John Colicos, displaying some of the edgy talent that would later make him a popular figure in American TV. Even the child actors give good performances here. Okay, so the tale is occasionally predictable, particularly at the climax, but it's also tense and oddly gripping, which is why I give it the thumbs up.

A West Midlands factory manager John Sewell (Dermot Walsh) is planning to take his family on a caravan holiday in the South of France. He is looking forward to it since it has been three years since his last. The newspaper reports that a ruthless criminal called Terence Dewar (John Colicos) is on the run from the law wanted for killing a night watchman and assaulting a police officer. When Sewell sets off with his wife, Mary (Jane Barrett) and their two children, Michael (Anthony Pavey) and Ann (Marilyn Baker), they soon discover that Dewar is hiding in the caravan. He holds Michael at gunpoint in the caravan and forces the family to help him escape across the channel into France threatening to kill Michael if they don't...An average British second-feature thriller with a premise that promises much in the way of suspense. In the first half, director Henry Cass (The Glass Mountain, No Place For Jennifer) succeeds in racking it up to quite high levels like when the family are stopped at the police road block in Southern England with Dewar in the back. They have no alternative but to try and prevent the police from looking in the back of the caravan by saying that their young son is ill but an irritating and overly helpful police officer suggests they take him to be checked over at the local hospital and he insists that he accompany them on his motorcycle and the Sewells are faced with the dilemma of losing him. There is also another good moment when the family are on the road again and are flagged down by a hiker (Bill Shine) who wants a lift to the hospital as his wife has fallen and twisted her leg. Naturally, Sewell is a good natured man by heart but has to refuse due to his predicament of having a psychotic killer in the back with his son. But the hiker is obviously unaware of this and asks him "What sort of man are you?, you've got a big car and a ruddy great caravan". But it transpires that the hiker's wife played by Avril Angers is a nagging wife who says "Well he wouldn't have driven off if you had been a bit more tactful" before whacking him across the nose with her arm. You sympathise for Sewell as he had to appear to be unhelpful and uncaring owing to his deadly situation but later we see the wife for who she is and evidently Sewell himself was feeling bad about it but he has no idea of what the hiker's nagging wife is like. However, the film sadly tails off at the climax for a routine showdown at the Port of Dover, which is indifferently staged and it all ends predictably as most of these b-pics usually do. I felt that this film would have benefited from a darker ending as it would have made all the difference since the film on the whole is better acted and directed than one would normally associate with this type of picture. I was expecting a lot more for the big finale and was left disappointed as the end credits rolled. John Colicos offers the best performance as the ruthless Dewar portraying him with quite a feeling for character.All in all, Bond Of Fear gets off to a good start with suspense which holds its grip a lot better than one would normally expect of a b-pic thanks to Henry Cass' tight direction although he is finally defeated by the predictable climax, which leaves one feeling disappointed that the suspense earlier on promised much more and really it added up to little. But this is still far from the worst of those tawdry b-movies that came out back then and it still makes for a good time filler and not a boring one either I might add.

I remember seeing this film on TV when I was a kid and was totally absorbed. I still like this type of old British movie. I think it's the good old-fashioned storyline with lots of suspense that does it for me.So here we have good old Dermot Walsh minding his own business, taking his family on a trip with the caravan in tow and ending up with a wanted criminal holding them hostage whilst on the move with their trailer. For me, the acting is more than decent and for anyone like me who has a penchant for rather cheaply made, but nonetheless good, black and white British second features of this era, it would be a very decent purchase if only it were available on DVD or VHS (hint, hint).Yes, it's a pity that - ahem - Amazon don't have a great many of this type of good old British black and white on either DVD or VHS.