Seven Days to Noon *solved*

[andyc]

Hi All,



Been trying to get the name of a film I remember seeing when a kid. It's about a 'mad scientist' type who has a nuke planted in London, set to go off in a number of days, unless his demands are met. Plot revolves around trying to find the bomb and the evacuation of the city. One female character spends the film trying to get transport to Aldershot. Scenes of police and army searching sewers. Pertty certain it was B&W, and had a 50s feel to it, but was probably produced in the 60s. My vague memory of it was of it being quite dark, with lots of claustrophobic war cabinet scenes, but this is probably clouded by time.



On another forum, it was suggested that the title was Seven (or possibly five) Days to Midnight, but I cannot find any reference to this film anywhere. Five Days to Midnight returns only the recent US SciFi Channel miniseries.



Thanks !!

[Ascoyne D'Ascoyne]

Seven Days to Noon (1950)

[andyc]

Fantastic !!!



So near, yet so far. This has been bugging me for ages.



Thanks Ascoyne.

[dylan]

name='Ascoyne D'Ascoyne']Seven Days to Noon (1950)

As anyone seen the 1951 "sequel" High Treason? It features Andre Morell as Superintendant Folland again, this time foiling a communist plot to overthrow Britain. It seems to have dissapeared completely and sounds like a fascinating cold war paranoia film and insight into the political thinking of the "socialist" Boulting Bros.



D.

[penfold]

There's a similar plot to the Nigel Kneale-written TV play 'The Crunch' from 1964......here, the atomic device has been smuggled to a London Embassy in component form under diplomatic baggage...the UK must agree to reparations from some Imperial injustice. Harry Andrews is the PM, Anthony Bushell the Officer Commanding (Wasn't he always?) and highly recommended if you ever get the chance.

[ChristineCB]

Definitely added to my Must Have list. I see Movies Unlimited lists the VHS for sale. I might experiment and see what this vendor's like. The below link has some other interesting titles...



Seven Days To Noon [VHS] video online at Movies Unlimited



Any experience with these people?

[andyc]

Yes, I remember this as being very tense and quite dark, but I was quite young at the time. I'd love to see it again, but am almost afraid to in case it doesn't live up to the memory, but judging from the reviews here, it might be worth the risk.



Thanks for the link. I'd be interested in recommendations or warnings for Movies Unlimited also.

[Mr Cosmo]

Andy - by a strange coincidence I ran 7 DAYS TO NOON just the day before you posted and I still think that despite the fact that it is an old film, it still packs a good punch and is worth seeking out.

[andyc]

That's great, thanks Sam. I've been disappointed by films I remember as exciting from a childhood memory, only to discover they don't stand up now. I'll keep an eye on the schedules for this one.

[alan gowdy]

Perhaps you were being ironic, Dylan, but I've always thought of the Boultings as pretty right-wing in their attitudes. They certainly seemed to have scant regard for the film technicians' union.

[Liz242]

Ihope someone can help me with this one...



The film (b&w) is set in 1950ies (could be early 60ies) London. Whole of London has been completely evacuated beacuse a mad scientist is threatening to let off and atomic bomb. His daughter is helping the policy to persuade him not to.



Scenes that are stuck in my brain are:

An unemployed, middleaged actress with a drinking habit and a small dog don't get evacuated with the rest. Shot of her and her dog walking over a bridge

Aerial shots of London

A scene in a big church (St Paul's?) with the scientist



Thanks a lot!!

[DB7]

Seven Days to Noon (1950)

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Excellent, It won an Oscar for James Bernard's score.



Not pretending I knew this... I just took a look at IMDb because I thought it looked an interesting movie and I have the vague recollection of seeing it as a child.



EDIT: Just checked PlaydotCom and though it hasn't yet got a release date on DVD it is listed as 'coming soon'. http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/33222...searchsource=0

[Liz242]

Brilliant, guys - ta very much!

[smudge]

name='Aaryk Noctivagus']Excellent, It won an Oscar for James Bernard's score.



Not pretending I knew this... I just took a look at IMDb because I thought it looked an interesting movie and I have the vague recollection of seeing it as a child.



EDIT: Just checked PlaydotCom and though it hasn't yet got a release date on DVD it is listed as 'coming soon'. http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/33222...searchsource=0

I'd look again...



As far as I was aware the Oscar was for his writing with his partner Paul Dehn. If you pop back to James' IMDb page, you'll find it was for just that, and that the film was scored by John Addison.



Not wishing to score points, BTW - I just read your post and thought I'd gone addle-headed, as I recalled the writing credit...



Smudge

[Aaryk Noctivagus]

Yeouch... A different job for James Bernard!



I saw the name and simply thought it had to be for the music. Mea Culpa.



I should have known better because I both compose and write also.



Terrible that such a fine composer only ever won one Oscar... and it wasn't even for his music!



Whether you were point scoring or not... I'd still want to know my mistakes. Thanks for pointing this out.

[Number Six]

Hi Liz242



It's nice to see someone mentioning 'Seven Days To Noon'. What a great film. Fantastic camera work and acting - it should be held as an example of how to make a gripping drama - a great comment of the times - something the Boulting Brothers were extremely adept at. Barry Jones should have received an Oscar too!

[nandywell]

Black/White thriller set in the 1950's, man stays in London B&B and is on the run. He has a briefcase which he carries around. If memory serves, there is a bomb in it. Most of London is evacuated and the police track him down, eventually they get to him before he can do any damage. I can't remember much of it now and I'm sure there are many errors/omissions in my description but, does it ring any bells?

[BristolUK]

Could it be Time Bomb with Glenn Ford?

[brianl]

Seven Days to Noon?

brianl