Lets first deal with the elephant in the room, that virtually all reviewers lauding this film choose to ignore. I'm no student of physics, but I'm absolutely positive that atomic/nuclear bombs couldn't be concealed in Gladstone bags in 1950. After all, this is only 5 years post Hiroshima. Granted this is an early example of a "Cold War" drama, drawing on the collective fears of a population fearing some sort of nuclear exchange/accident. But the underlying thread of a nuclear scientist wandering out of a laboratory, carrying a hidden atomic bomb in his Gladstone lunch bag is plainly absurd.
Perhaps the onset of the Cold War also influenced the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences in 1952 when awarding the writers of this pretty thin and fanciful tale, an Oscar for Best Original Story. Half-way decent scripts must have been thin on the ground that year.
What is interesting with the story is the non-aligned, individually neutral motivations behind Willingdon's actions. He's not a Soviet spy, ex-Nazi or some religious nut pushing a philosophical barrow. He's just a self-confessed pacifist, who has clearly lost the plot. But in overtones that echo contemporary frequent media headlines, his family and friends have no idea of his current mental state or feelings about his work.
The big set piece of the film and what it perhaps is best remembered for, is the evacuation of London. For a film produced on a clearly limited budget, this is quite cleverly achieved using judicious use of peak hour footage at various venues, along with some likely very early morning footage at well known London landmarks.
The acting and general production details are all very adequate for a film of this type and time. But for me, notwithstanding its unlikely Oscar, Seven Days to Noon remains very much a "B" movie experience.
Perhaps the onset of the Cold War also influenced the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences in 1952 when awarding the writers of this pretty thin and fanciful tale, an Oscar for Best Original Story. Half-way decent scripts must have been thin on the ground that year.
What is interesting with the story is the non-aligned, individually neutral motivations behind Willingdon's actions. He's not a Soviet spy, ex-Nazi or some religious nut pushing a philosophical barrow. He's just a self-confessed pacifist, who has clearly lost the plot. But in overtones that echo contemporary frequent media headlines, his family and friends have no idea of his current mental state or feelings about his work.
The big set piece of the film and what it perhaps is best remembered for, is the evacuation of London. For a film produced on a clearly limited budget, this is quite cleverly achieved using judicious use of peak hour footage at various venues, along with some likely very early morning footage at well known London landmarks.
The acting and general production details are all very adequate for a film of this type and time. But for me, notwithstanding its unlikely Oscar, Seven Days to Noon remains very much a "B" movie experience.