Two small boys are playing in a wood. The younger boy has a revolver and, not understanding that the gun differs from his toy pistol, plays 'highwayman' on the road and holds up a cyclist; the gun goes off, killing the cyclist. Both boys are unaware of the tragic consequences of their game. The body and the gun are found by Bob Carter, who had recently quarreled with the victim in the presence of their workmates, and both men had uttered threats. The evidence is strong, and Bob is arrested for murder...
Acting
Jack Warner's weary authority anchors the chaos.
Direction
Comfort squeezes dread from postwar British ordinariness.
Director
Lance Comfort
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in just three weeks on a shoestring budget by Anglo-Amalgamated, the studio that would later fund Carry On films. Same energy, completely different universe.
Released the same year as the real-life Derek Bentley controversy—a British teenager hanged for a murder he didn't commit. The film's unease about working-class justice lands differently knowing audiences walked out to newspapers covering the case.
US
GB
