This is a nice little picture, kind of a commentary on crime, which features Richard Todd as a perfume salesman who doesn't take kindly to having his new Impalia stolen by a gang lead by Peter Sellers. Although there may be elements of dark comedy, this is basically a straightforward crime drama and all the principals are very effective, particularly Sellers.
You could basically see this film as a modern urban variation on "High Noon." The police and the man's wife eventually decide that going after Sellers is far too dangerous, but as the title implies this man will just not let go of his precious car. He goes so far as to bring danger down upon his own household, when Sellers tracks him there and pushes his wife around. Finally he has to have a man-to-man showdown with the villainous Sellers, and the men beat each other nearly to death.
I've never really seen Sellers quite as evil as he was in this film. He pushes women around, he robs from innocent people with no remorse, and he brutally punishes his underlings when they disappoint him. He attacks the role with great relish, like a man who enjoys doing bad things. This was Sellers' least mannered performance to date, among the films I have seen. In contrast to some of his later films where his excellent performances stand out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the film, this one serves the story and the film before all else.
It's an interesting comment on materialism in our society, although I don't know if it plays out today exactly as it was intended. I found myself becoming quite aggravated with the good guy and wishing that Sellers could get away with it, because I was almost as infuriated with him as the bad guy. There's also a juvenile delinquent couple that just seems thrown in to give the story "modern relevance." But all in all this is a very memorable movie and I'm surprised that it's not discussed more often.
You could basically see this film as a modern urban variation on "High Noon." The police and the man's wife eventually decide that going after Sellers is far too dangerous, but as the title implies this man will just not let go of his precious car. He goes so far as to bring danger down upon his own household, when Sellers tracks him there and pushes his wife around. Finally he has to have a man-to-man showdown with the villainous Sellers, and the men beat each other nearly to death.
I've never really seen Sellers quite as evil as he was in this film. He pushes women around, he robs from innocent people with no remorse, and he brutally punishes his underlings when they disappoint him. He attacks the role with great relish, like a man who enjoys doing bad things. This was Sellers' least mannered performance to date, among the films I have seen. In contrast to some of his later films where his excellent performances stand out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the film, this one serves the story and the film before all else.
It's an interesting comment on materialism in our society, although I don't know if it plays out today exactly as it was intended. I found myself becoming quite aggravated with the good guy and wishing that Sellers could get away with it, because I was almost as infuriated with him as the bad guy. There's also a juvenile delinquent couple that just seems thrown in to give the story "modern relevance." But all in all this is a very memorable movie and I'm surprised that it's not discussed more often.