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Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

An exciting, suspenseful, ingenious thriller, this one makes very inventive use of the author's obviously first-hand knowledge of military red tape. The direction has pace and flair and actual locations are very effectively employed. The film has obviously been produced on an an unusually lavish budget, including an enormous cast. All roles from the largest to the smallest are superlatively played in a solidly realistic manner. The movie also excels with a great number of extras, including loads of location filming and even a sequence in which a whole army building is spectacularly burnt to the ground. As usual in this type of film, our sympathies are directed firmly to the robbers and we feel with them as they collectively and individually make one hairsbreadth escape after another, The screenplay is superbly constructed to extract the utmost suspense and tension and while it seems to be light on characterization, the personable playing by Baker, Bell and others makes up for this deficiency. The Greek unities are observed and fortunately there is no romantic interest whatever to dissipate the film's grip and tension. True, the climax is a bit extravagant and clichéd, but this is the one sour note in an otherwise excellent thriller.

I watched APOA courtesy of TalkingPictures TV channel, which is proving a treasure trove of little-known films, often low budget, of the 1960s.The plot unfolded in a satisfying way, with a parade of familiar British actors of yesteryear in small parts, including,as noted, "Likely Lad" Rodney Bewes. Stanley Baker inevitably impresses in the starring role.The film must have been made with the co-operation of the British Army and so shows officers and soldiers reacting to the raid in an efficient manner. (One or two of the actors could have worn their berets in a more military manner, and there was one sloppy salute - and what about the motor-cycle rider stopping off at a pub for a drink or two on duty?) One thing that did puzzle me was why the highly-strung Fenner was running in a panic through crowds of mocking soldiers and incurring the wrath of, I think, the regimental sergeant-major. Perhaps the clip that showed the reason for this was edited out?Overall, very entertaining.

A Prize of Arms is directed by Cliff Owen. The film stars Stanley Baker, Helmut Schmid, Tom Bell and Patrick Magee.This is a very gritty thriller that has you on the edge of your seat throughout. It's a puzzle to me as to why this one is not better known and held in high regard today. It's one of the best heist films I've ever seen along with The League of Gentlemen and the Gene Hackman film Heist.Turpin(Stanley Baker) is a former British soldier who is bitter at the army because they dishonourably discharged him. Turpin puts together a three man team, himself, Swavek(Helmut Schmid)and Fenner(Tom Bell)to pull off quite a robbery. They will get into an army base disguised as Soldiers and rob the large amount of money in the base safe. There are lots of twists in this film and it has an ending that is completely unexpected and truly unforgettable.The amount of planning the gang go to is incredible from getting army uniforms and coming up with a getaway plan. As with The League of Gentlemen part of you wants them to succeed because of how much effort they've put into their plan. Baker is excellent (as always)as the embittered Turpin. Helmut Schmid is solid as explosives expert Swavek and a young Tom Bell is suitably twitchy as Fenner the youngest member of the gang.Fine performances, a suspenseful story and lots of tension all help to make this a firs rate thriller. It would have been nice to have seen how the gang got together and why Turpin chose those Swavek and Fenner in the first place. That issue aside though this is a first rate thriller that deserves a great deal more attention than it has right now.

A PRIZE OF ARMS is quite similar stylistically to Stanley Baker's HELL DRIVERS, although not quite as good as that movie. It's an engaging little piece that tells of a trio of crooks who set an elaborate plan into action to rob an army payroll. The plan involves them infiltrating an army camp and posing as soldiers before they truly set the wheels in motion.This makes for tight, focused story-telling throughout, with no time for the usual romantic sub-plots and the like to pad out the storyline. In fact, there are no actresses in the film whatsoever. The use of a flamethrower in some crucial scenes also makes for novelty value and this feels way ahead of its time in that respect.Baker gives a dependable turn as the antihero lead and the supporting cast has also been well chosen. What's particularly interesting is the sheer quantity of future famous faces lining up to play the soldiers: Rodney Bewes, Patrick Magee, Stephen Lewis, Geoffrey Palmer, Fulton Mackay, and Michael Ripper are all present here and certainly add to the experience for British cinema fans.