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Time Lock (1957)

You'd think after watching four of the earliest Sean Connery films I could get my hands on that only 30 minutes of combined Connery screen time would soon become a little disconcerting.  But strangely enough I've thoroughly enjoy three of the four films I've had the recent pleasure of viewing.  All films I never new existed that have turned out to be some early hidden gems in the great actor's varied career.

Time Lock is a film that takes place in a little bank in Toronto Canada in the 1950's.  When the son of the bank's accountant is accidentally locked inside the bank's sealed vault panic erupts.  With possibly only 10 hours of air inside the vault, which is locked via a timing mechanism, it's not set to reopen for another two days!  A welding crew is brought in with the faint chance of cutting through the thick steal door, but they quickly discover it's all a futile attempt.  The only man with enough knowledge of bank vaults in the vicinity is nowhere to be found and the chances of the boy's survival are quickly diminishing with each passing hour.

I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again Time Lock is another early Connery appearance I didn't expect much from upon reading the film's brief synopsis.  How can an entire film about getting a kid out of a bank vault be engaging for 73 minutes?  Well surprisingly it is.  While the acting is below average, and as the viewer you can pretty much expect the kid is going to survive (although him dying would be an interesting twist) the film does a great job of keeping the film flowing smoothly and keeping tension high.  Sean Connery (in another bit role) plays one of the welders brought in to attempt to cut through the door.  While the film is far from a comedy, Connery manages to still bring a smile to my face as his character, in frustration, suggests blasting through the safe, only to receive the reply that it would blow the kid up!  For me Time Lock was simply a pleasant treat, with an excellent use of consistent tension and a short run-time it's a nice little low budget thriller worth checking out.

7/10

Time Lock Full Movie

3 comments:

  1. "But strangely enough I've thoroughly enjoy four of the three films I've had the recent pleasure of viewing." - while I'm sure it's just a typo, this is one of my favorite lines ever. I vote you keep it in for purity's sake!

    As for this one, I could see myself getting behind it a bit. Reminds me on some level of the far more recent Phone Booth (you know, without all the hitman, political agenda, undertones), and I quite enjoyed that one.

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  2. @Univarn - yep that's the result of writing this at 2 AM, I'm surprised that's the only mistake! I've never seen Phone Booth, but it sounds like it's got a whole lot more going on than this one, which only has a kid in a safe. Still they pulled it off nicely.

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  3. You should check out Phone Booth then, it's a well paced thriller, very short at 81 mins with a good cast.

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