An exciting, suspenseful, ingenious thriller, this one makes very inventive use of the author's obviously first-hand knowledge of military red tape. The direction has pace and flair and actual locations are very effectively employed. The film has obviously been produced on an an unusually lavish budget, including an enormous cast. All roles from the largest to the smallest are superlatively played in a solidly realistic manner. The movie also excels with a great number of extras, including loads of location filming and even a sequence in which a whole army building is spectacularly burnt to the ground. As usual in this type of film, our sympathies are directed firmly to the robbers and we feel with them as they collectively and individually make one hairsbreadth escape after another, The screenplay is superbly constructed to extract the utmost suspense and tension and while it seems to be light on characterization, the personable playing by Baker, Bell and others makes up for this deficiency. The Greek unities are observed and fortunately there is no romantic interest whatever to dissipate the film's grip and tension. True, the climax is a bit extravagant and clichéd, but this is the one sour note in an otherwise excellent thriller.
Review of A Prize of Arms
