Dir: Vernon Sewell | UK Thriller 1962
Derren Nesbitt gets a rare opportunity to demonstrate he can command our sympathy in this unbearably tense, extremely well-acted bank heist British B movie thriller from Vernon Sewell with plausible characters you care about and a devastating final punchline.
The carefully planned heist goes awry when the robbers are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of two nattering cleaners. The gang lock the manager and his secretary in the airtight vault and make off with the cash but soon realise that the pair will suffocate, and they will face a murder rap if they can’t free them. With only 12 hours’ worth of air in the vault, the clock is ticking. Strongroom stars Colin Gordon (The Pink Panther, The Prisoner), John Chappell (Mystery Submarine, The Queens Guards), Ann Lynn (The Party’s Over, Just Good Friends), Derren Nesbitt (The Prisoner, Where Eagles Dare), Keith Faulkner (Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, Payroll) and W. Morgan Sheppard (Star Trek, Max Headroom).
Director Vernon Sewell (1903-2001) was a mainstay of the British ‘B’ movie industry through the 1940s, 50s and 60s. He entered the industry in 1929 and had an early mentor in filmmaker Michael Powell. Sewell was among the crew who travelled to the Scottish island of Foula to make Powell’s artistic breakthrough The Edge of the Worldin 1937. Sewell’s first feature as director, The Silver Fleet (1943), was made for Powell and Pressburger’s Archers company.
Strongroom has now been remastered by the BFI, including in a brand new 35mm print, it will be re-released in selected cinemas by BFI Distribution on 30 January 2026, followed by a BFI Blu-ray release on 23 February and a BFI Player release on 23 March.