Checkpoint – 1956 | 86 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Filmed in Italy, this taut industrial espionage thriller set in the world of Grand Prix racing is about an attempt to headhunt an Italian car designer, which ends in theft, corruption and even murder. Unfortunately this slow-moving film fails to get out of first gear.

O’Donovan (Stanley Baker), the purchasing agent of auto magnate Warren Ingram (James Robertson Justice), is sent to Italy to lure a talented Italian designer away from his firm. However, when his efforts to lure the engineer through negotiations fail, ruthless O’Donovan resorts to stealing his revolutionary blueprints from the car factory. The robbery goes awry when O’Donovan kills a security guard that confronts him. To avoid detection by the police, Ingram unites O’Donovan with the racing team led by ambitious driver Bill Fraser (Anthony Steel), and offers him a huge sum of money to transport the fugitive to the Swiss-Italian border. For a while, Fraser succumbs to greed, but eventually common sense overtakes him.