Rent Offbeat (1961)

Budget Crime. - Offbeat review by Steve

At the turn of the sixties there was a glut of low budget British crime films, short enough to play on the bottom half of a double bill. The sort of b&w police drama which was becoming a regular on tv. This is among the best of these. Production values are threadbare, but there is a fine script and imaginative direction from Cliff Owen in his debut feature.

William Sylvester plays a maverick intelligence spook who goes undercover for Scotland Yard to infiltrate a gang of bankrobbers. But he finds a fulfilment in crime absent from regular work. There is camaraderie, and greater independence and dignity. The pay is more rewarding and he soon falls for a crooked moll played by Mai Zetterling.

She gives the most memorable performance, costumed to look like a Scandinavian Lizabeth Scott. The plot is suggestive of those Hollywood syndicate films of the fifties in which the mob operates like a legitimate business. Only this goes further in blurring the lines; licensed corporations are portrayed as similarly corrupt. What's the difference?

There is something unusually compelling about Offbeat. The photography is no more than functional, but the story is told coherently and with genuine suspense. The jazz soundtrack is a cliché, but it still works. The characters are all credible, and there are interesting themes about capitalism and the human cost. This is far better than it needs to be.