Breakaway (1956)

Simply Perfect

Brilliant and touching

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is a lot of fun, but only if seen before or after BARBADOS QUEST. Both productions have Tom Conway and Michael Balfour playing the same characters while another 4 or 5 actors appear in both films playing different roles including John Colicos, who should forever be distinguished as the 1st Klingon seen on STAR TREK. In addition, both films were released within a few months of each other suggesting the possibility of interchangeable film shooting which would be the envy of Roger Corman, or Orson Welles.All credit to Berman and Baker for not only making full use of their alloted time and money, but probably also using the Tom Conway character as a dry run for THE SAINT tv series which they produced a few years later.After all this the quality of this film's plot and performances is almost incidental.

BREAKAWAY is the second of a couple of detective films starring the ubiquitous Tom Conway (brother of George Sanders) as a private eye who gets caught up in a double case involving a kidnapped woman and a special formula to combat metal fatigue that both the east and west are keen to get their hands on. Invariably the two cases are linked and with a aid of a few allies, Conway is soon hot on the trail of spies and the like.Although it passes the time reasonably well, it's fair to say that BREAKWAY is an unremarkable British crime film. Other, even lower budgeted films did the whole private eye thing a lot better, for example the two Toff films made with John Bentley. Conway does have some basic charisma as the lead but he's getting on a bit here and he looks every inch his age.The supporting cast is as interesting as ever for a British B-production. Honor Blackman is dolled up to look particularly glamorous - probably as glamorous as she ever looked, at least until GOLDFINGER. Michael Balfour contributes one of his patented 'buddy of the lead' role and has some good comic moments. American star John Colicos plays pretty much the same role as he did in the same year's PASSPORT TO TREASON, and boxer Freddie Mills is the bartender. There's also a nice cameo for Arthur Lowe. BREAKAWAY features a handful of action scenes including fist fights and one decently-portrayed car accident, but it's slim pickings for this particular genre.

This isn't that bad, Maybe because I've seen Russian born Tom Conway in worse films. It's the usual type of Baker/Berman thrillers, which they continued to do on television years later with Roger Moore as 'The Saint' This starts in Berlin with Johnny Matlock going from east to west. In West Berlin he meets Frida and her dying brother Professor Dohlman, who gives him a formula for his brother to help reduce metal fatigue. After some trouble in his hotel room he flies back to England with private investigator 'Duke' Martin in the passenger seat beside him. At the airport in London Johnny meets his girlfriend Diane (pronounced Dee-Ann!)who is also his brother Michael's secretary. 'Duke' meets his friend Barney (Michael Balfour). Tom Conway plays 'Duke' in exactly the same character he played earlier in 'The Falcon' series of films from 1942-1946 when he took over from his elder brother George Sanders. After Matlock and Diane drive away from the airport they stop for the usual broken down car in the middle of the road. They are then set upon by two kidnappers who disappear with his girlfriend. After the fight 'Duke' goes to the nightclub 'The Crystal Jug Club' to meet Diane, instead he meets her sister Paula Grant (Honor Blackman) who tells 'Duke' that her name is Paula Jackson. Being the suave gentleman 'Duke' offers to take her home. After dropping her off he follows her by car to Diane's home. After this 'Duke' goes home where he meets the two kidnappers who have guns, which they then use to rob him of Diane's handbag. The next morning Webb (the owner of 'The Crystal Jug Club') visits 'Duke' and tries to buy the formula from him. When Webb leaves, 'Duke' visits Michael Matlock who is Johnny's older brother. After more trouble from Webb and the Kidnappers 'Duke' visits his friend (ex-boxer and barman at the club) Pat. While there they meet Johnny Matlock who throws Barney into the Thames river. An odd thing then happens as 'Duke' gets a phone call to meet Paula at Diane's but no one else has been there from the time before but it's totally cleaned up even though the place was turned over by the kidnappers looking for the formula. 'Duke' investigates further and finds out that MaCallister is involved and that the man behind Webb and the kidnappers is Johnny Matlock's brother Michael. He then goes and saves Diane from Webb. In the last five minutes they find the formula hidden in the middle of Diane's Lipstick. Webb escapes but the police turn up and chase Webb until he crashes and they arrest him. It's one of the usual 'quota quickies' which were turned out at that time and it's like most of Baker/Berman films in that there's punch ups and car chases around London. It's a great time waster at just over an hour, you would only get bored if it was twice the length like a modern film.

I got this movie because it was one of three Honor Blackman movies that I did not own. It's just been released as an R2 DVD, part of a series called "The Best of British Collection". The disc rated U runs 71 minutes and is of course PAL format.The quality of the print is excellent.The movie is about the search for a formula to combat metal fatigue, an important issue at the time following the Comet disasters. It's not particularly good with a couple of so so car chases and contrived fights. I'd rent it rather than buy it.Honor Blackman has smallish part, Freddie Mills is a friend of the hero and Michael Balfour, who seems to pop up in bits in just about every British movie of the period has his longest part that I have ever seen as the lovable, dumb factotum of the hero Tom Conway.Not much here even as historical interest.