Freedom to Die

Freedom to Die
Still from film
Directed byFrancis Searle
Screenplay byArthur La Bern
Produced byCharles A. Leeds
StarringPaul Maxwell
Felicity Young
Bruce Seton
CinematographyKen Hodges
Edited byJim Connock
Music byJohn Veale
Production
company
Distributed byButcher's Film Distributors
Release date
  • 5 March 1961 (1961-03-05) (UK)
Running time
61 min
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Freedom to Die is a 1961 British second feature[1] crime thriller film directed by Francis Searle, starring Paul Maxwell and Felicity Young.[2] It was written by Arthur La Bern.

Plot

Craig Owen is an incarcerated criminal whose cellmate Felix knows about a safety deposit box with valuable contents. When the cellmate dies, Owen escapes to get the stash. Unable to open the box, he forces Felix's adopted daughter, Linda, to give him the key. Owen is re-arrested and sent back to prison. When his release day comes, Linda shoots him dead.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin said "Unexceptional crime-and-vengeance thriller, lumbered with unnecessary plot ramifications and pretensions toward deeper motivation that neither script nor cast are equipped to handle properly. The direction is rough-and-ready, but keeps the action ticking over steadily."[3]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film describe the film as: "an unusually sombre thriller with a grim ending."[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ^ "Freedom to Die". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Freedom to Die". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336): 23. 1 January 1962 – via ProQuest.


Stub icon

This article related to a British film of the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a crime thriller film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.