DVD Review: Payroll (1961)

It's rare to find a vintage British crime flick set outside of London, but Payroll is in that minority, using the streets of early 60s Newcastle as the backdrop to a vicious robbery - and the fallout that follows it.

Michael Craig stars as Johnny Mellors, leading a gang (which also features a young Tom Bell as Blackie), planning an assault on a wages run, acting on information from one of the firm's employees (Dennis Pearson, played by William Lucas). But there's a problem - the old system is about to be changed, no longer a car run from the bank, the firm has brought in an armoured vehicle, complete with police radio and emergency siren. The complete anti-theft machine it seems.

DVD Review: The Frightened City (1961)

You would be forgiven for thinking that the gritty British crime thriller started at Get Carter and ended with Guy Ritchie, but the crime flick has been around as long as the moving picture in the UK - with The Frightened City typical of the early 60s output.

Available now for the first time on DVD (as part of Optimum's British Thrillers series), The Frightened City is British noir, set in London's gangland and starring Sean Connery as a petty criminal caught between two warring factions. Connery isn't the main character here though - that's Herbert Lom as money man Waldo Zhernikov. He has a plan - to bring together all the London crime gangs into a large syndicate, making it easier to extract protect money from the club and restaurant owners.

Coming soon: The Bank Job (2008)

Not long into 2008 and we're already being greeted by another British gangster flick - although The Bank Job has more to do with 1971 than the modern era.

It's actually based around true events, specifically an unsolved robbery 37 years ago, when thieves broke into a London bank vault, looting boxes worth millions. No-one was caught for it and the government issued a press gag on it. The movie second guesses what was hidden in those boxes, throwing in a tale of murder, corruption and a sex scandal with links to the Royal Family, not to mention lots of early 70s style.

DVD Review: Fear Is The Key (1972)

If you've encountered Fear Is The Key in the past, it's likely to be in the soundtrack section of your local record store - the excellent Roy Budd soundtrack got a reissue on the back of Get Carter's popularity. The film itself is rarely seen, despite having a really impressive pedigree.

Based on an early 60s novel by Alistair MacLean, it boasts an above average cast, headed up by Barry Newman, fresh from his role as Kowalski in the superb Vanishing Point, along with Cinedelica favourite Suzy Kendall, Ray McAnally (of Spindoe fame) and Ben Kingsley before the hair receded. So, based on a respected novel, top-notch soundtrack and solid cast, we can't fail can we? Well, yes we can.

DVD Review: All Coppers Are... (1972)

Almost everything released by Peter Rogers Productions has been a Carry On movie. But there were a few exceptions, including All Coppers Are... - a film about as far away from the bawdy British comedies as you can get.

Set in the shadows of Battersea Power Station in the early 70s, it's a tale of a good guy, a bad guy and the girl in the middle. And it's pretty grim, but at the same time very watchable.

The good guy is Martin Potter as Joe the 'copper', the bad guy is Barry (Nicky Henson) and the girl in the middle is the dough-eyed Julia Foster as Sue. All three meet at a wedding, none knowing the background of the other two. Joe has a brief fling with Sue, but when she finds out he's married with a young child, she drifts towards the flash Barry, getting involved in his latest get-rich scheme - which inevitably ends in tears.