Review of The Concrete Jungle

THE CRIMINAL is another star vehicle for the continually underrated Stanley Baker, an actor who enlivened every film in which he appeared. This one's a low key prison drama for the most part, in which Baker plays a robber who hides some loot in a field but soon finds himself pursued by his fellow gang members desperate to get their hands on the stolen goods. The film is divided into two parts, with the realistic depiction of the mundanity and brutality of prison life contrasting with more familiar criminal behaviour on the outside. It's not the most exciting film in existence, only really picking up in the last twenty minutes or so, but a finely-judged cast of character actors see it through. Highlights include a suave Sam Wanamaker as the fixer, Patrick Magee as a nervy prison guard, and plenty of others including Noel Willman and Kenneth Cope.