Based on the novel A Convict Has Escaped by Jackson Budd, this classy but violent film-noir looks at the dark underside of post war Britain. Clem (Trevor Howard) is on hard times after being demobbed but finds his way to employment via the black market. His job is to smuggle various goods inside coffins. But soon the illegal booty becomes something far more dangerous and when Clem notices that drugs are now the main product he vows to change, but he’s set up by his creepy boss and his life is changed forever. Gritty, grim and gloomy this is a perfect example of just how ahead of the curve Brazilian born director Alberto Cavalcanti was when it came to realistic and gripping storytelling.
