Gentle Trap/Hangman Waits [DVD]

Whilst The Gentle Trap is an entertaining time-filler, typical of its time, and with one or two inadvertently amusing moments of dialogue, the big draw here must be The Hangman Waits, an extraordinary little-known crime docudrama made in co operation with the News of the World, appearing on DVD for the first time. It comes accompanied with an apology for the less than perfect quality of the source print for which due attention should be drawn. (The accompanying film is much better served).

The Hangman Waits is an account of a manhunt, but told in very striking fashion. It is, I'd suggest - and one hesitates to use the term so readily in such an obscure context - the work of a poverty row auteur: the director, producer and writer being the same person, one A Bar-Smith, apparently his only full length directing job. A lonely review on IMDb points out that this film "looks and feels as though it was made at the dawn of talking pictures with some stilted performances, erratic editing and simplistic storyline...". That's one view.

It certainly seems a throwback to earlier times with words playing a constant second to visuals and sound - and in fact it is 6 minutes in before any dialogue is spoken. Even the police are presented at one point Keystone-cops style, manning the running boards of cars to the final showdown, in a couple of remarkable 'frozen' shots - the careful framing of which, I'd suggest, indicates a sure deliberate stylistic strategy on the part of the director rather than clumsiness. I'd argue that like another favourite of mine, White Zombie, the anachronistic styling gives the film a unique feel, and by using a distinctive mode of storytelling, it turns its austere production values to advantage. The editing is not erratic either: in fact it is at some points quite deliberately structured, such as during the suspenseful, Hitchcockian opening scenes. In fact, dialogue issues apart, The Hangman Waits is striking on several counts throughout, including no less than 3 montage sequences, and a unique score featuring piano and organ intrumentation (the austerity of which at times reminded me of that for Peeping Tom). The killer's face is not revealed until the last few sequences; instead the film contains several interesting minor characters and incidents, which go by way of compensating for the enigmatic man on the run at the centre of the plot. The involvement of the News of the World is obvious with some effective location shooting in Fleet Street, but the view of journalists and reporters is not rose-tinted. The final montage sequence is the most interesting, creating an almost stream-of-consciousness effect as the killer recalls moments of his romantic past as the organ plays a canzona.

Some will find little in the film; others I hope will pause and discover it's avant-garde qualities, seen for the first time in a generation or so, in this release with all of the surprise and delight I did. Ironically, the older Hangman Waits, because so audacious, makes its companion feature The Gentle Trap seem conservative in contrast. I certainly watched Bar-Smith's work open mouthed.