SYNOPSICS
The Challenge (1960) is a English movie. John Gilling has directed this movie. Jayne Mansfield,Anthony Quayle,Carl Möhner,Peter Reynolds are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1960. The Challenge (1960) is considered one of the best Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Billie and Kristy lead a gang of armed robbers who steal from banks, armoured cars, and the like. When Billie's lover, Jim, gets caught by the police after stashing a large amount of money, they wait for him to get out of jail. He does and has to deal with both the police and his ex-gang as they both need him to get what they want. Things become more complicated when Kristy kidnaps Jim's son and threatens to kill him if Jim doesn't come up with the buried loot.
The Challenge (1960) Trailers
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The Challenge (1960) Reviews
Superbly acted and a MUST for Jayne Mansfield fans! *Possible Spoilers*
This is a very well acted British film starring superstar Jayne Mansfield and highly respected actor Anthony Quayle. The film begins as Jayne plays a ruthless villianness type woman who gets her kicks robbing banks and jewelry stores and such. She enlists the help of lover Quayle only he gets caught but doesn't rat out Jayne or her gang of thugs. While Quayle's character is in prison, Jayne continues the heists and eventually opens a club. Quayle gets out and beautiful Jaynie looks him up wanting the money he hid before he got caught. Eventually as Quayle refuses to help Jayne and the gang her thugs kidnap his son and chaos ensues. As you view the film you'll forget you are watching a shoddy copy of the tape. My tape is from one of those quickie $5.99 companies called EPI Entertainment Programs. Fans of Jayne Mansfield positively MUST have this in their collection as her performance totally dismisses the naysayers and she acts superbly. Yes I am a fan but I can still honestly say her acting is A+ in this. Many times people don't get past her beautiful face or incredible super figure and forget about her acting which totally shines in this. I also liked Barbara Mullen as Quayle's nervous wreck of a mother. Jayne and Anthony also have a lot of chemistry together. And we are treated to a lovely musical number by Jayne wearing a stunning and incredibly tight evening gown. A must see! I only hope this will be remastered and released to DVD ASAP!
Very acceptable crime film
One of the better London-based crime films of the 1950s/1960s to appear on the Talking Pictures channel. It was interesting to see Anthony Quayle as something of an underdog, and I always puzzle about Edward Judd's transformation as an actor. In "The Challenge", he looks a bit seedy, not helped by unflattering baldness, whereas after some 50 years I can still recall his screen presence in some TV series or other - helped by a toupee, a bit of burliness and a smart suit. I have a feeling that, as with so many films, the regional railway stock and the London terminus didn't match. (And even in those days did drivers really leave ignition keys in their cars?) Despite what others have said, I thought that Jayne Mansfield was adequate, though I fast-forwarded through her song. The poster for the film shown here on IMDb titillates misleadingly. I'm not sure who the cavorting lady is - Billy before she went blonde or the stripper whose act we never got to see completely?
Surely Some Mistake
When you watch a British crime film from the 1950s you expect that the gang boss will be played by Herbert Lom,or Martin Benson or maybe Eric Pohlman,but Jayne Mansfield!\whereas Joan Crawford is a tigress when she is a gang boss,Eg Johnny Notorious,Mansfield is a pussycat.She has all the toughness of a rotten tomato.Once the going gets tough she gets going and Carl Mohne takes over.The best she can do is simper in a variety of wigs and a different outfit for every scene.She simpers a song in a sort of Monroe imitation.She is in short dreadful.Quayle plays against type as her crook lover who went to prison but kept the loot.If you were to take Monroe out of this film you would have a good film.Nevertheless when Mansfield is off the screen the film is quite entertaining.
Fine example of the British crime genre
Top thrills from writer/director John Gilling come to us courtesy of this black and white British crime thriller, which features a nicely-tuned leading performance from character actor Anthony Quayle, a man who never disappoints with his mannered and focused acting style. Quayle plays a mild-mannered family man who gets involved with an unlikely femme fatale and a gang of robbers and is involved in a violent heist. He escapes with the loot and manages to bury it, but somebody calls the police and he's sent off to jail for eight years. The story picks up on his release, where he finds the gang are desperate to lay their hands on the loot and will do anything to facilitate that end. The story goes from there. What's immediately apparent is that THE CHALLENGE is a very good film of its type, certainly much better than the earlier efforts directed by Gilling which suffered from tiny budgets. THE CHALLENGE has more money put into it and it shows, with plentiful action and lots of different locations, both indoor and out. Unfortunately it appears that a number of reviewers have condemned this film as a cheap piece of derivative trash. They appear to have watched the movie as it contains an early role for American starlet Jayne Mansfield, but in their condemnation they don't have anything to compare the film with. You can't contrast this type of movie with the big budget American film noir flicks or even French classics like RIFIFI; of course it's going to look inferior, but trust me, THE CHALLENGE is a strong entry in its genre. It's fair to say that Mansfield is pretty unconvincing as the femme fatale/gangster's moll in this film, although as ever her figure is quite arresting. The silly wig she wears for part of the running time is quite distracting. Still, the supporting cast are fine: Carl Mohner is frightening as the ruthless thug; Dermot Walsh gets to be on the right side of the law for once; Percy Herbert has a wonderful little turn as a boozy worker; Barbara Mullen is memorable as the stressed-out mother in law; and Edward Judd makes his impact as the two-fisted cop. THE CHALLENGE fills its running time with many suspenseful moments, a taut premise (particularly in the second half), fine action, and great twists. I really liked it.
Only Watch it for Anthony Quayle
The only good thing about this film is the performance of Anthony Quayle. He gives his character some depth and humanity. No wonder he was soon off to great films such as Laurence of Arabia. If you want a truly great performance by this actor watch Anne of the Thousand Days. His role in that film earned him an Academy Award nomination. The good thing about THIS film is that the plot was a great idea and the flow was pretty quick and kept you interested. What was awful was the quality of the picture and the sound. The actors were blurry and the voices did not match the lip movements. Why was so much wasted on what could have been a really decent movie? Perhaps age and a lack of good DVD quality is the problem? The movie will only be bearable to Anthony Quayle fans, Jayne Mansfield fans, or crime drama fans.