Rent The Siege of Pinchgut (1959)

Prison Break. - The Siege of Pinchgut review by Steve

The final release from Ealing studios is an Australian film noir about a prison break. Brawny Aldo Ray is sprung from stir and hiding out with his pals in a former penal colony on an island in Sydney Harbour, now a tourist attraction. They take a family of caretakers hostage while the fugitive demands a retrial from the State Governor.

And most cinematically, the gang's former naval gunner (Victor Maddern) has trained the battlement's functioning cannon on a ship in the bay loaded with explosives, ready to fire if their demands are not met. It's a wild plot, but the main attraction is the unusual historic location of Pinchgut, and the wider use of Sydney.

It's fascinating to see the city before its modern transformation into a great metropolis. Just a big sunny provincial sprawl. There's a memorably eerie scene in the empty streets, evacuated beyond the range of the threatened explosion. Local actors got some minor parts, but Ray is the star and he dominates as the charismatic, headstrong convict.

Ironically he breaks out of one prison, only to be penned into another. The great Ealing studio brought down the curtain with a production which reflected their penchant for social realism. And their ambition, with Harry Watt making his third film in the lucky country. It's not among their first rank of classics, but still a tough compelling noir.