Review for The Intruder

‘The Intruder’ was a film that I’ve never seen or heard of before now. Thanks to Network’s relentless quest to dust off and release many old gems from the Rank film archives, ‘The Intruder’ gets the release it and re-appraisal that it deserves.


It’s a slightly moralistic post-war tale about comradeship, loyalty and a reflection of some of the difficulties soldier’s faced once de-mobbed. It boasts a stellar cast – a veritable who’s who of British cinema at the time – as well as the brilliant Guy Hamilton in the Director’s chair. (He directed all my favourite Bond movies as well as gems like ‘An Inspector Calls’ and ‘The Colditz Story’). The Intruder (aka Six Came Back) is a 1953 British film based on the 1949 novel by Robin Maugham called ‘The Line on Ginger’.


It may be a little melodramatic for today’s tastes but the steely jawed Jack Hawkins navigates his way through this sensitive and human drama without too much sentimentality. It’s a very tightly scripted piece too and its construction, with constant back-story flashbacks, works brilliantly. By the time the predictably heart-warming ending happens (I won’t give it away) we know the entire back-story and are all pretty much on the same page.

Hawkins plays the part of a wealthy Stock Broker (Wolf Merton) who was once (seven years previously) a highly distinguished army officer who was much respected by his men and fellow-officers. Leading a tank division through some of the most violent clashes experienced during WWII, his men form a tight-knit group (with the exception of a wonderfully snivelling Dennis Price who plays a cowardly officer who abandons his men in a burning tank to save his own skin).


Returning home from a game of golf one evening he discovers his London home is being burgled (hence ‘The Intruder’ title). When he switches on the light it transpires that the burglar is none other than one of the brave men who served under him – Ginger Edwards (Michael Medwin) who looks extremely desperate and his holding a gun. Wolf tries to assure Ginger that he won’t call the police but as he opens a draw in another room to find a picture of the regiment, he knocks his phone which sounds as if he has just made a call. So when the doorbell rings, Ginger is convinced that the Colonel has turned him in and he makes a run for it.


The film then follows Wolf as he searched for Ginger, determined to discover what turns a brave and reliable soldier into a thief so that he can help him in whatever way he can. He sets about visiting other ex-regiment members (who were on the photo) to see what they know. As a result he visits the smarmy Dennis Price who is smug and sneering about Ginger, suggesting he should be reported to the police.


He also visits George Cole in Covent Garden market who is actually harbouring Ginger – but by the time Wolf convinces him that he has no intention of doing anything but helping Ginger, Ginger has gone. He then visits a school another colleague (now a school teacher) as well as a one-armed ex-soldier who runs a farm deep in the countryside.


At each stop we are treated to another flashback which adds much to the back-story so that we, the audience, become sympathetic to Ginger’s plight. Having left the army he returns home to find that his kid brother has been subject to tyrannical physical abuse from an uncle and that his sweetheart is now with another man. When his brother is knocked over and killed , running from a beating from his uncle, Ginger hits the uncle, knocking him down some stairs and killing him. He is then imprisoned for ten years but has broken out of jail after just seven, and is now on the run.


Presented in its original aspect ratio the transfer and print are absolutely stunning here. Network have done a great job and it’s a real pleasure to watch.

The disc comes with a trailer and an image gallery but nothing else – pretty much bare-bones.




All in all an excellent and thoroughly entertaining film – low-budget British cinema at its very best and presented here with a virtually pristine transfer. What more can you ask for? Highly recommended.