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Hell Drivers [1957]


RRP: £19.99
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Editorial
Synopsis

An ex-con's struggle for survival in the world of ballast haulage.


Christ,what a cast!
Review date: 2007-08-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

The best bit of this is that very few of the stellar cast were known to cinema viewers when this came out in 1957. It didn't end there, though.

We should face facts-every cliche in the book is in here, the special effects consist of repeated speeded-up film of stunt driven lorries hurtling round the same corners and country roads, meeting nothing more than pre-war Ford cars en route and Irish-American Patrick McGoohan's Irish accent is almost as unconvincing as Lithuian Herbert Lom's comic Italiano.

Who cares??

It's a rip-roaring film, moves along fast, has a supporting cast, apart from Herbert Lom, of William Hartnell, Jill Ireland,Sean Connery, Alfie Bass, Sid James & Gordon Jackson, and is only missing a loveable Cockney rogue amongst the lorry drivers, plus David MacCallum looking about 16!!

Yeh, it's violent and downright nasty at times, but so is life occasionally, as it was back then, too. You'll forgive it for all the above, plus the battle between ex-crim new Driver Stanley Baker, slowly smouldering beneath the bloody great chips on either shoulder that made him such a well-balanced individual, and top driver Red, Mr McGoohan, who is an even more combustible method-acting psychopath, who resembles dear old Robert Newton when he really gets aflame AND manages to have a thundering all-Gaelic punch-up with Stanley & STILL keep a lit fag in his mouth for most of the time!!

This really is one to savour-sometimes for the right, sometimes for the wrong reasons. But definitely one to savour!


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Reviews


Bring on the trucks!
Review date: 2007-08-02 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a great film, one of my all time favourits. Being a fan of classic cars, WW2 military vehicles, Sid James and Bill Hartnell this film is a treasure trove of Willys Jeeps, flying jackets and artillary men leather waistcoats! The cast has already been touched upon in other reviews and is full of top notch people but I feel I must mention Red, the drunken, bullying time setter and foreman of Bill Hartnell's boss, played to perfection with as much menace and sometimes comedy by Patrick McGoohan. The grin that hints of many pub brawls and of a broken jaw, the eternal presence of the roll up fag, the air of a ticking time bomb of violence waiting to explode in a second, a man who is king of his own jungle. What a character he was.

Little bit of info here, my Grandfarther used to be a builder for 50 years of his life, he did this kind of life style in the time the movie is set. We watched this film one saturday afternoon, he loved it but pointed out two things as follows.
1. The trucks use in this film, obviously speeded up, could only muster around 40 45 an hour unloaded and were prone to gear box death if driven to hard.
2. He also told me that Red was quiet a common character back then, he also said that McGoohan's performance was quite tame compared to his old work mates and foremen! Imagine Red magnified ten fold!

In short, buy it, watch it, enjoy the characters, the motor's, the wagons, the clothes and the great cliff hanger of an ending!!!

A smashing little thriller.
Review date: 2007-03-24 Rating: 10 out of 10

A film with a wonderful rich array of fine Brit actors and character actors. This is a tight tense little film, if you haven't seen it already, then you haven't been watching TV for the past 30 years or more, as it is shown at least twice a year, and that is just terrestrial TV.
This repackaging by *Network* is superb with masses of extras, and a booklet. Well worth the price, and much better than the previous Carlton release of 2004. If you are a fan of fast paced trucking movies with a violent crime ridden underside, then this is for you, and with cracking performances from Stanley Baker, Patrick Magoohan and the UK's first 'Doctor Who' - William Hartnell, who can argue.


Atmospheric fifties drama
Review date: 2007-03-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

Its difficult to pick out who is the main actor in this taught drama about rivalry at a haulage works whereby Patrick McGoohan who plays the character Red meets his comeupance in the character played by Stanley Baker.
The storyline sees a group of heavy haulage drivers who must reach certain targets of lorry loads of chippings and other building material to keep their jobs.Red is always the most daring driver taking risks and short cuts through the quarry to get that extra load until Stanley Baker arrives and takes up the challenge of being number one driver,driving wrecklessly or as the name of the film like a Hell Driver.

William Hartnell (Doctor Who No1) is the manager who along with Red are corrupt and fiddling the accounts.Herbert Lomme of Pink Panther Fame plays the Italian who Red takes a disliking to and ends up killing in a wreckless driving incident.

Naturally in all late fifties films the goody played by Baker must triumph over the baddie played by MCGoohan.Sidney James also makes an appearence as does Silvia Simms.

In all, this film is typically late fifties in feel but could easily have been made fairly recently.It has a great story and its one of those films once seen never forgotten.

It is certainly a good film one of those you can easily watch again and again and because of its interesting script and excellent acting makes it one of the most notable films of the fifties.
It has been shown on tv a few times but usually during the afternoons when most of us are at work,its deffinately worth seeing for the action sequences alone.

A Fine British Drama
Review date: 2007-02-08 Rating: 8 out of 10

Stanley Baker plays an ex con struggling to find work. He is eventually employed as a driver for a haulage firm which isnt quite what it seems. He soon realises that the drivers are badly underpaid despite the numerous loads which they have to deliver during their respective shifts.

Many of the action sequences are quite funny at times, showing lorries being driven at tremendous speeds around hairpin bends. Obviously speeded up to look dramatic. What holds the film together however, is the superb cast. Apart from Stanley Baker, there is Herbert Lom, Sean Connery (before he became better known as THE James Bond) Sidney James, William Hartnell and Patrick McGoohan as the villain of the piece. The romantic interest is left to Peggy Cummins and the then unknown Jill Ireland.

Despite its low budget, its superbly directed by Cy Endfield (who went on to direct the superb Zulu) and filmed by Geoffrey Unsworth. Not a bad picture, and reasonable sound.


Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Gordon Jackson
Patrick McGoohan
William Hartnell
Sid James
Jill Ireland

Creators:
Patrick McGoohan (Primary Contributor)
William Hartnell (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: Network
Manufacturer: Network
EAN: 5027626261948
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, Black & White, PAL, Special Edition,
Release date: 2007-03-19
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 103 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1957
Language: English (Original Language)

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