This British suspense film is fantastic on every level. Two employees are closing up a bank before a long holiday weekend when in pop three masked robbers. They force the bank employees downstairs and get them to open the "strongroom" where all of the money is. The robbers get their money, bind and gag the two employees, and then something happens they didn't plan on. Two cleaning women appear upstairs. The robbers know they can't get away in the time it will take for the bank employees to escape and alert the cleaning women, so they panic and throw the employees into the airtight strongroom and make their getaway.On the way back to their hideout, the leader, Griff (Darren Nesbitt), comes up with a plan to rescue the bank employees, who will suffocate by midnight if not found. He and one of the robbers will go back to the hideout, while the third drives to the train station, calls the police from there and tells them of the robbery, and then drives back to the hideout. Griff figures the police will get nothing from tracing a call to such a busy public place, they get to keep the money, and the bankers are saved.It is all looking good until the police show up at the hideout - which is actually just an apartment. They are not there to arrest the two robbers. Instead they are there to tell them that their companion died instantaneously in an auto accident while driving towards the station. You see, one of the robbers is the dead robber's brother and next of kin. Thus the now dead robber could never have made the call. And worse the keys to the strongroom are in the morgue with the third robber's body.These two guys don't mind stealing, and they don't mind threatening to get what they want, but they do not want a murder rap. At the same time the two bank employees are trying idea after idea to either break free from the strongroom or at least get an air hole to the place. Plus they both have to deal with the fact that although they are both expected at events later in the day, nobody has noticed their absence enough to inquire as to what happened to either of them, so there are the expected tales of regret that people often tell when they feel they are at the end of life.How will this all work out? Watch and find out. It really is a gripping thriller and extremely well acted.

Scrap metal merchants, Griff (Derren Nesbitt), Len (Keith Faulkner) and Alec (William Morgan Sheppard) decide to turn to crime for a one off job. They pull a £30,000 raid on a bank on Easter Saturday and lock the manager, Mr Spencer (Colin Gordon) and his secretary, Ms Taylor (Ann Lynn) in the vault. They flee but Griff realises that the pair will not be discovered until Tuesday and as the vault is air tight, they will have suffocated by then. Initially, Len and Alec are uncaring but Griff persuades them that if they do not inform the police they will have a double murder on their hands. They decide that Alec will take Mr Spencer's car out of the area, inform the police anonymously and leave the vault keys in the phone box. Meanwhile, Griff and Len will see to it that the money is put in a safe place. However, in an unfortunate twist of fate, Alec becomes involved in a car crash and dies. Griff and Len are now faced with a dilemma. They go to the mortuary to collect Alec's personal effects, which include the vault keys, but the attendant refuses to break official procedures and will not hand them over without the proper authority. Griff and Len realise that they will have to break back into the bank and cut a hole in the vault door using their cutting equipment from the yard and feed in oxygen through a tube connected to a cannister. But all the while time is running out - fast!Strongroom was produced as a low budget b-picture but when it opened in the West End, it got such good press that it was elevated to a-feature status. It is not hard to see why as it has enough good qualities to stand on its own. The screenplay by Richard Harris offers several opportunities for suspense and Vernon Sewell's direction certainly rises to the occasion ensuring that the audience is kept on the edge of their seats. Tense moments include the scene in which Griff and Len have broken back into the bank and are busy cutting into the vault door only to be interrupted by two cops. They are seized and about to be dragged off to jail and Griff pleads with them explaining the circumstances. But are his efforts going to be in vain? Is it already too late? The picture does have some weak moments, the scenes between Colin Gordon and Ann Lynn trapped in the safe border on the absurd at times like when Gordon hacks away into the concrete floor of the vault with a pair of scissors and a handle from a cheque perforating machine to expose a sewer pipe, which he hopes to break open to let some air in and he manages it! I found that just a little far fetched but on the whole, Strongroom is better than your average British b-pic especially in terms of the suspense aspect and performances are good all round. Happily the film is now available on DVD.

This crime or film noir from the golden days of British film-making (Yes, the '50's/'60's B-flicks), proves good plot and script, however lesser-known a movie is, is still effective even today.The two crooks, played by Nesbitt and Faulkner and another hold up a bank - they're not vicious in any real way, however wrong they are. The stuffy bank Manager, Colin Gordon and his secretary played by Ann Lynn are locked in the 'Strongroom' or vault if you want to call it that, by the two crooks, with the intent that they will hand the keys in at a police station and let the cops know the two bank workers are in there - all the time running out of air - but that's excused as it's done and dusted, isn't it, that they will soon be released? Wrong! Faulkner's brother, also a member of the gang is tasked with this - he's seen driving off to do just that, but of course - he has an accident and dies! Faulkner and Nesbitt receive a knock on the door from the police - unknowing of what's happened at this stage, panicking slightly. But then the news of Faulkner's brother's death is given. A little panic of both his brother's death and what'll happen to the bank workers by Faulkner surfaces but he knows he has to keep his mouth shut.Faulkner has tried to retrieve his brother's belongings angrily as he's promptly told by the police the dead brother's items can't be returned not for weeks - which of course includes the Strongroom keys! The remaining duo decide to get hold of the usual bank busting equipment, Oxycetelene gear etc., and try their best to break through to the suffocating bank workers. In the meantime, an astute person has noted that part of the dead brother's belongings are a Strongroom key, after Faulkner's rantings lead them to suspect something was wrong.The police then hurry to the bank after contacting an experienced locksmith as to what bank/door it belongs to.They're about to make their pinch, when the boys tell them that they're trying to free the workers. Reluctant at first, they understand and let them continue - they get the door open - a huge look of relief from them is shown at what appears as the very last scene but at this point their relief is shattered as a police officer states :'This one is DEAD sir!' The look from Nesbitt and Faulkner sums up the impending doom for the pair, as hanging is still a capital offence at that time in the UK. However, it beckons from us up to and after the credits still a legal position that they may get a manslaughter charge - but the film doesn't give them the chance they thought they had.Excellent and good performances all round and sadly not shown enough.

This is not a good film to watch if you suffer from claustrophobia. It's a little gem produced in the early sixties and usually tucked away in the early hours of the morning. There were many of these B movies produced in the 50s and 60s and most are quickly forgotten. However this one stands out. Derren Nesbitt makes for a convincing baddie bringing his particular brand of menace to the role. Colin Gordon plays it with a very stiff upper lip and Ann Lynn provides the glamour. Despite being just over an hour long it packs a useful punch and sustains the tension through to the end. Watch it with the door open and a glass of cold water to hand.