Watch Floods of Fear For Free

The Worst Film Ever

Simply A Masterpiece

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Floods of Fear is directed by Charles Crichton who also co-adapts the screenplay with Vivienne Knight from the novel written by John and Ward Hawkins. It stars Howard Keel, Anne Heywood, Cyril Cusack, Harry H. Corbett, John Crawford and Eddie Byrne. Music is by Alan Rawsthorne and cinematography by Christopher Challis. Two convicts and one guard are washed away into a flood after the barrier they were building collapses. Ending up at the flooded farmhouse of Dr. Matthews (John Phillips), the men find that the doctor is not at home but his daughter Elizabeth (Heywood) is. Soon enough tensions rise to boiling point, especially since one of the cons, Donovan (Keel), appears to be innocent of the murder he is locked up for, and he has revenge on his mind... Something of a legend for his directing work for Ealing Studios, Charles Crichton does a fine job blending a suspenseful action thriller with film noir thematics. Though primarily known for comedies (his last film would be A Fish Called Wanda), Crichton had already shown he had a considerable eye for noir with the brilliant and under seen Dirk Bogarde starrer Hunted (1952), only difference here is that the setting is predominantly set on or near water, and it really works for dramatic purpose. The flood recreation scenes are excellent, be it our protagonists/antagonists flailing about in the water trying to keep alive, or the destruction sequences as houses and various other parts of the watery landscape falling by the wayside, there is high peril crafted out there on those waters. With Challis' (Footsteps in the Fog and latterly Arabesque) beautiful black and white photography making a mark, and Rawsthorne's (Uncle Silas/Pandora and the Flying Dutchman) musical score suitably stirring, the tech credits are high grade for such a Brit production. It's the character dynamics that really seal the deal to make this a film well worth seeking out. Keel is full on brooding machismo, who seems to have the world on his shoulders, but he always convinces as a man to turn to in a crisis. Cusack is a nutter, no beating around the bush, he would stab you as soon as look at you, and he has very unhealthy designs on Elizabeth. Which brings us to Heywood, who as the sole female of the piece gives a real stoic performance, she's constantly pulled from pillar to post, drowned like a rat, and she has to balance fear, bravado and romance, which she does admirably. While Corbett, who would find fame in the hugely popular TV comedy show Steptoe & Son, provides the requisite officialdom axis in the play. All good really. 7.5/10

FLOODS OF FEAR – 1958 This is a UK production set in the American Northeast during a rather nasty flood. A group of convicts are put to work reinforcing a levee with sandbags. The levee however gives way and everyone is sweep into the rushing waters. Two convicts, Howard Keel, Cyril Cusack and an injured guard, Harry Corbett all make it to safety. They are joined by local, Anne Heywood. The four take shelter from the rising waters on the top floor of Heywood's home. Keel immediately starts building a raft. He has no intention of returning to prison. He has murder on his mind. Keel got a life sentence for murdering his business partner, John Crawford's wife. The two had been having an affair and when she had turned up dead, all the evidence pointed at Keel. Crawford and Keel had been partners in a river tug outfit located just down the river. Corbett does his best to protect the girl Heywood, from the unwanted attentions of the oily Cusack. Cusack arms himself with a large blade and hints that Corbett will get his soon. Keel finally gets his raft done only to have Corbett swipe the thing in order to get away from Cusack. The rising waters soon push the rest of the house off its footings and into the river. Keel, Cusack and Heywood manage to survive by holding onto a piece of the roof that breaks off and serves as a raft. As luck would have it, they find a small boat and transfer to it. Keel soon grows tired of the rat, Cusack, and his constant attempts at Heywood. He fires the rodent off the boat at the first bit of land they come to, before continuing towards his "date" with Crawford. Heywood realizes that Keel is not the vicious murderer she had thought him to be. Keel simply wants the truth to come out about the crime he was sent up for. Keel lands Heywood at a safe spot and carries on. Guard Corbett has made it to safety and contacts the local law, Eddie Byrne. He tells Byrne that Keel intends to murder Crawford if he can reach him. Byrne hands Corbett a revolver and assigns him a couple of National Guardsmen to escort him to Crawford's place. Now we find out that Cusack has knifed a would be rescuer, and stolen his small motorboat. Cusack plans on reaching Crawford before Keel. Cusack intends a bit of blackmail. He believes Crawford to be the real murderer as well. Cusack is sure Crawford will pay for the warning about Keel, as well as for Cusack to keep his silence about the murder. Heywood has also reached the local law. A quick word with Byrne has the Sheriff send Heywood and a couple deputies racing to Crawford's in case Corbett might need help. Guard Corbett and the two National Guardsmen have by this time reached Crawford's tug boat pier. Corbett warns Crawford about Keel's break out, and his planned attempt on Crawford's life. Soon Cusack comes puttering out of the rain in his little motorboat. Everyone mistakes him for Keel, and Cusack collects several bullets before being collared. Heywood arrives with the extra men, everyone now just sits and waits for Keel to put in an appearance. Keel however is already there, and has been watching everything for the last 20 minutes. He sneaks under the dock and enters Crawford's office. He gets the drop on the man and proceeds to give Crawford a most vicious beating. He cannot however bring himself to kill Crawford. He turns himself in to Corbett. Corbett, who has been busy questioning Cusack, tells Keel that enough questions as to his guilt have been raised, that a new trial is likely. There are some fairly intense moments in the film and Keel is surprisingly good in a non-musical role. What throws the viewer off to a degree, is the rather ineffective American accents used by the UK members of the cast. It would have worked better being set in the UK. Having said that, the film as a whole, works quite well. There are several noir touches throughout, murder, revenge, infidelity being the foremost. And the raging waters do well at replacing the alleys and dark streets of an urban setting. Both are empty to the man on the run. The look of the film also works with D of P Christopher Challis, supplying a nice assortment of black and grey tones. The four time BAFTA nominated Challis did some top fight work with, THE SMALL BACK ROOM, FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG, CHANCE MEETING, NEVER LET GO, SINK THE BISMARCK, ARABESQUE, VILLAIN and EVIL UNDER THE SUN as examples of his work. The director, Charles Crichton, is best known for the films, HUE AND CRY, THE LAVANDER HILL MOB and A FISH CALLED WANDA. He also touched on suspense with HUNTED and THE THIRD SECRET. (b/w)

FLOODS OF FEAR is a very interesting and tight little thriller, sort of a CANON CITY in the rain. Escaped convicts hole up in a literally falling-apart house to escape extreme floods with not unpredictable melodrama ensuing. But what keeps the film moving along, like the constant menacing waves always inches from the screen, is its interesting series of twists and turns once the initial setup passes. And the special effects are an often brilliant mix of miniatures, intense live action and stock footage; a palpable sense of menace and fear hangs over the entire film, quite relentlessly. From the very opening shot to the very last, the water is never calm and there's little humor or relief. So it actually fits nicely into the noir cycle and is quite entertaining, though it is hampered by most of the film's leads' inability to pull of the American accent.

A rarely seen film from Charles Crichton, the director of popular British comedies such as 'The Lavender Hill Mob' and 'A Fish Called Wanda', Crichton manages to establish an appropriately solemn atmosphere for this film, but even so, it is only passable viewing overall. There are some fine bits of drama woven into the tale, however the film has a tendency to be unrealistically melodramatic, and the dull, heavy-handed narration is no help. The floods effects are great though, and together with apt music, the film has a fair few moments of great power. It is only intermittently intense though, and the plot is completely predictable, with a typical love interest and obvious plot twists. Fans of Crichton or the cast members might find something interesting here. It is pretty watchable - just not especially well made.