Bobby Driscoll is not a name familiar to most people, unless they are die-hard classic movie fans. Driscoll's career was short, but that wasn't because he couldn't act. This movie shows his talents as a young boy who cries wolf and then pays for it, big-time.
The first 40 minutes of this film deals with that "wolf" angle. It goes a bit too long and begins to drag the story down a bit, but stay with it. Once the killers come looking for the boy (Driscoll), the film suddenly becomes extremely tense. In fact, the tension is so strong the last 30 minutes that there are scenes you almost can't bear to watch.
Story-wise, there are some credibility questions, mainly "Why would good parents - as portrayed here by Barbara Hale and Arthur Kennedy - leave their 10-year-old all alone all night?" But, ignoring that, the film is entertaining and has a good ending, so I have no complaints.
Driscoll does a fine job of acting, as mentioned, and Hale became famous for being Perry Mason's secretary on television. Kennedy is always interesting no matter what film he is in, and Paul Stewart is effective as the villain.
As of this writing, the VHS tape is out-of-print, and there is no DVD available yet, sad to say. Hopefully, that oversight will be corrected soon. This film is a valuable part of anyone's film noir collection.
The first 40 minutes of this film deals with that "wolf" angle. It goes a bit too long and begins to drag the story down a bit, but stay with it. Once the killers come looking for the boy (Driscoll), the film suddenly becomes extremely tense. In fact, the tension is so strong the last 30 minutes that there are scenes you almost can't bear to watch.
Story-wise, there are some credibility questions, mainly "Why would good parents - as portrayed here by Barbara Hale and Arthur Kennedy - leave their 10-year-old all alone all night?" But, ignoring that, the film is entertaining and has a good ending, so I have no complaints.
Driscoll does a fine job of acting, as mentioned, and Hale became famous for being Perry Mason's secretary on television. Kennedy is always interesting no matter what film he is in, and Paul Stewart is effective as the villain.
As of this writing, the VHS tape is out-of-print, and there is no DVD available yet, sad to say. Hopefully, that oversight will be corrected soon. This film is a valuable part of anyone's film noir collection.