Never Let Go (1963)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Peter Sellers turns in a very funny performance only he doesn't know it.All clenched teeth grim smile,dreadful accent,and breathless throughout.He is more like a pantomime villain.He shares scenes with the police inspector who is being underplayed and Adam Faith who seems to be made out of solid oak.Little wonder Sellers awful performance is not remembered when around the same time he was Fred Kite in I'm alright Jack.

NEVER LET GO is such a good British crime picture that I'm surprised more people don't know about it. The main character is a rather weak and weedy man, played by a cast-against-type Richard Todd. He's a lowly salesman whose car is stolen by a young thug at the film's outset, leading him on to an obsessive quest to get it back. The trail soon leads to a garage run by an unscrupulous crime boss, played by Peter Sellers, also playing against type. Both Todd and Sellers are making real efforts here in roles neither are used to and both are quite excellent. The film's unusual storyline builds on the suspense and keeps the viewer guessing as the story progresses, and it all builds to a climax which for once it worth the wait. A fine supporting cast includes David Lodge as a heavy, Noel Willman as a detective, Elizabeth Sellers as the stressed-out wife, Mervyn Johns as an informant, Adam Faith as a thug, and Carol White, who would go on to fame in POOR COW.

On a Rank DVD (I would offer only a 7/10 rating for this DVD due to an image break-up) you will find the gripping Never Let Go (1960) with Peter Sellers in a character role as a particularly sadistic gangster.This is not a comedy. Sellers is first rate as the evil gangster who is brought to book by perennial loser Richard Todd (also cast way against type and also delivering most vividly and convincingly). The support line-up is also particularly strong. I could go through the cast one by one, but I think it spoils the movie if you are aware of too many details in advance.Location lensing with low-key, noirish camera-work by Christopher Challis also helps.In fact, the only wrong note is sounded by the usually very reliable John Barry whose music score is often inappropriate. Apparently nobody told him that this "Never Let Go" was NOT a comedy.

Richard Todd is a low-level cosmetics sales man struggling to make good sales figures. He recently bought a car to help him cover more ground more easily, but due to the financial dent he couldn't afford insurance on it. One day at work his car gets stolen by Adam Faith, who steals cars for garage owner Peter Sellers. Sellers, keeping his own garage fully legal, has another garage change the plates and such on these stolen vehicles, and then sells them for a nice profit. Despite his wife Elizabeth Sellars's wishes as well as those of police inspector Noel Willman who wants to nail Sellers for his entire operation and not for one measly stolen car, Todd decides that this is one fight he does see through all the way, and he starts searching for his car. Besides his stolen car racket and Willman, Sellers also has to deal with his girl Carol White, who is fed up with her prisoner life with bored with him, and is more interested in Faith.A late Britnoir, with some seemingly atypical casting choices for Sellers ('Dr. Strangelove...') and Todd ('The Interrupted Journey'). But both really sink their teeth into their characters. Sellers is especially nasty and mean here, and thoroughly convincing, and Todd is a born loser who decides enough is enough, for once, but who has no idea what he's doing aside from getting in everybody's way, as well as thoroughly upsetting his wife and their marriage. He is not exactly likable, more annoyingly pathetic, and while that might put off some less-noir-inclined viewers, for me it works in this movie's advantage. It gives the movie a very interesting psychological dynamic, and both actors give a great performance.It's also a pretty gritty movie, with a lot of shadows and shoddy interiors. Director John Guillermin ('The Towering Inferno') and DoP Christopher Challis ('Chitty Chitty Bang Bang') use carefully chosen camera angles and vantage points to add tension, with a very nice brass-heavy score by first time composer John Barry, who would go on to score many Bond movies as well as 1981's 'Body Heat'. So yes, this is a pretty dark movie and even if the story isn't all that surprising, it is executed really really well, with Sellers and Todd excelling. Recommended! 8/10