The Siege of Pinchgut (1959)

The Worst Film Ever

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"London Live" a U.k. t.v. channel is currently showing Ealing films daily from 2 p.m. Monday-Friday.I managed to see this film which was new to me despite having seen many films especially produced by Ealing.No it is not one of their comedies but is in the serious gangster genre set on location in Sydney, Australia.Other reviewers have outlined the plot so I won't repeat it.The only British actors I could identify were 1.Richard Vernon 2. Heather Sears. 3.Victor Maddern and U.S. actor Aldo Ray, the latter because he acted in some UK TV programmes. American actors have great trouble with Australian accents.At first, as I missed the beginning, it was not clear why American robbers were in Australia.Were they supposed to be playing Aussies?This is one of the few Australian films to be shown on U.K. t.v.as we are more familiar with their "soaps" on t.v. e.g. "Home & Away" & "Neighbours".As this film was produced in 1959 the moral code was still in force so I knew the wanted men would get caught or receive their comeuppance.Watchable I gave it 6/10.

GEM was showing this early Saturday morning, and I just finished AKA Known as "Four Desperate Men" in the States, but as "The Siege of Pinchgut" here in Australia, this was shown on local TV yesterday. It was rather unusual seeing Sydney in 1959, with double decker buses, trams, and police vans with "POLICE E&R FORCE" on the side of them, and the lowish skyline of Northern Sydney.The film follows the pattern of the period which would have one or two overseas stars to help sell the film elsewhere. This time it's Aldo Ray and Carlo Giustini. It also has a solid performance by Gerry Duggan (whom I saw in a Skippy repeat last week) and Alan Tilvern as the hard-headed Superintendent Hanna. Like many films of the time, accents are either well known dialects (like Irish), "educated" (like Hanna's) or "larrikin" like the main characters brother Joey.Very much a drama of who will and won't survive, including a good portion of Sydney, with a live naval gun trained on a boat full of explosives! There's a number of sly digs on Australian society in the film, like a two-up game running in the middle of an evacuation. I also liked the reference to "the old tram depot, about to be demolished for our new Opera House" - little did they know where that'd lead! Good stuff and a look at the past.

One of the previous reviewers stated erroneously that Ealing only lasted 20 years.That is completely wrong.A studio has been on the present site for around 100 years.In 1930 a company was formed called Associated Talking Pictures headed by Basil Dean.This made films for release by Radio Pictures.Trouble was Radio wanted them as supports for their American imports whereas Dean wanted them for top of the bill.So they split from Radio.Dean was ousted in 1938 because he liked to use his wife,Victoria Hopper,in colossal flops such as "Whom The Gods Love".It was at this point that Balcon,who had left MGM British became head of the studios,the name changed to Ealing and it became world famous.However by 1955 various problems beset Balcon and he had no option but to sell the studios,where films are made to this day.Balcon had a distribution deal with MGM and rented space at their Boreham Wood studios,where the likes of "Davy" and "Dunkirk" were made.However MGM was in turmoil and Balcon left for ABPC who distributed this film.However films had moved on since his heyday and so the company was disbanded at the end of the year.It is actually a rather good film,even if Aldo Ray is less than convincing as an Aussie.It is an entertaining film and a fine testament to Ealing and Balcon.

I first saw this particular flick at the now famous Sydney cultural icon, The Cremorne Orpheum in Sydney. I've always regarded Aldo Ray as a very good actor seeing him in Erskine Caldwell's 'God's Little Acre'and with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Ustinov in 'We're No Angels'. However, the screenplay was really pushing the envelope to achieve the 'suspension of disbelief' to make an audience accept that an American psycho who's reason for being in Australia in the first place,was never explained, could just muscle in and take over Pinchgut right in the middle of Sydney Harbour and hold the whole city to ransom by pointing a Big Bertha canon directly at a ship carrying high explosives...well, I just don't buy it. Also the coppers lining the arc of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ready to blow Aldo Ray's head off, if he happened to show his face....well, melodramatic in the extreme. Just not going to happen. I think that even in those days, the Sydney Water Police would just seal the island off and send the equivalent of a SWAT team by helicopters or scuba divers to deal with Aldo Ray. Added to this, Matt Kirk (the Aldo Ray character) and Johnny are supposed to be older & kid brothers; Matt talks to him as if he's an infatuated homosexual which I found laughable. So there are many implausible events in this brave '59 production which I could have believed if an Australian escapee from Long Bay Gaol or Callan Park Mental Asylum pulled this stunt or Aldo Ray played a psycho U.S. Serviceman who was obsessively infatuated with the Pinchgut Island caretaker's daughter instead of his kid brother and was in a position to know first-hand that there was a ship docked in the harbour carrying high explosives to blow the Bridge, Circular Quay, Balmain and Wooloomooloo sky-high. Nevertheless, it was a fun-filled Saturday afternoon, when I saw it many years ago at the Cremorne Orpheum.