Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Martin Bradley "The Challenge" (or if you prefer "It Takes a Thief"), may not be "Rififi" or "The Killing" but this John Gilling directed crime movie isn't nearly as bad as people would have you believe. In fact, it's a consistently fast-moving, surprisingly tough picture with a decent cast that includes Anthony Quale and Carl Mohner as crooks under the thumb of unlikely crime boss Jayne Mansfield. Yes, that's right - Jayne Mansfield, who isn't just miscast here but is perfectly dreadful and was probably the main reason the movie bombed, (was casting her really such a good idea in the first place?). Still, she turns almost every line she utters into a howler and is just one of the reasons the movie is so damned entertaining. Nice black and white photography, too, by Gordon Dines and a good use of locations.

naseby Strange Brit film-noir, in the sense Jayne Mansfield is playing a gang leader (and not even the moll). Anthony Quayle, playing out of character, (Jim) (if you 'don't' include 'Ice Cold in Alex, where he makes good anyway/let off). Simply said, Mansfield's 'Billie' character, sets up her then lover (Quayle) into taking part in a robbery. Carl Mohne as 'Kristy' her 'real'(?) lover, 'makes a phone call to the police to land Jim in it, but it looks like it still had Billie's blessing to land Quayle in it too??? Although the strange thing is, she's left Jim to hide the money without anyone knowing, (including her, where he stashed it). Kristy, thinking she DOES know, is hanging around. Meanwhile, Jim takes the rap because of the 'phone call, does his stretch and is released. However, all in the meantime Billie and the gang, have done numerous robberies whilst Jim was inside. This I don't really get, as Mansfield/Billie didn't know/locate the money from the first robbery with Jim, carries on robbing in the meantime. It's not as if she had Jim's money and was going to use it to finance jobs. On Jim's release, Mansfield and the gang want the money from the first job, Jim of course rebels/refuses for taking the rap - it's not long before the gang decide or rather Kristy does, to kidnap Jim's son, Joey (typical 60's name) in return in trying to get him to blab.Mansfield though is not warmed to the idea of harming or even taking Joey, as Kristy is a psychopath. This is where the film adds a bit more tension in the overall plot of finding Joey, who's in the hands of one of the gang, who's happy to kill joey if Jim isn't forthcoming wit the loot.Edward Judd plays a good role as the Inspector after both Mansfield's gang and all the loot from all the robberies as well as trying to wrest Joey from Kristy's minions.Predictable kind of turns with cops and robbers etc., with some fair action/fighting and tension. It has to be said Quayle played a great role and very well. Mansfield, on the other hand also predictably still plays a dumb blonde role too much like Marilyn Monroe, spoiling it, though for me and the film. She does a good about-face with Mohne's character realising he's a dangerous psycho though. One thing, there's a plot part of the loot being buried and then found to have later, explosives covering it - Jim goes to find it surprised of course, but what's more surprising is the fact the explosives are left out in the open/unguarded!!!

malcolmgsw When you watch a British crime film from the 1950s you expect that the gang boss will be played by Herbert Lom,or Martin Benson or maybe Eric Pohlman,but Jayne Mansfield!\whereas Joan Crawford is a tigress when she is a gang boss,Eg Johnny Notorious,Mansfield is a pussycat.She has all the toughness of a rotten tomato.Once the going gets tough she gets going and Carl Mohne takes over.The best she can do is simper in a variety of wigs and a different outfit for every scene.She simpers a song in a sort of Monroe imitation.She is in short dreadful.Quayle plays against type as her crook lover who went to prison but kept the loot.If you were to take Monroe out of this film you would have a good film.Nevertheless when Mansfield is off the screen the film is quite entertaining.

Spudling2 ...so did Mansfield star with another noted Shakespearean actor, Anthony Quayle. The difference being that Mansfield was never the star that Monroe was,and Quayle was just a jobbing actor in films, and the production accorded them was a cheapie. Actually, for the first part of this, with Mansfield hiding beneath a brunette wig, she is not bad, but back to blonde for the last half of the film she resorts to her usual simpering. The picture and sound quality of the CD is so bad, I could not even take my usual pleasure in this sort of film of enjoying the cast of familiar faces. The credits said Percy Herbert was in there somewhere, but I didn't see him.