Here at B-Movie HQ we come across a lot of forgettable titles. So forgettable I won’t mention them. If you accidentally come across them, my condolences.

But there are good ones out there, too. Case in point: the taut 1960 British neo-noir The Criminal. The actor pictured is Stanley Baker in the titular role of Johnny Bannion.

Johnny’s a bad guy and he’ll sell out anyone and in the end he gets his. It’s a bleak tale but told with great style by director Joseph Losey. The prison scenes are particularly gripping. The dialog is hard-boiled and at times the accents (a lot of Irish actors are mixed in) are impenetrable, but you get the gist. It’s under a 100 minutes long and filled with strong supporting actors throughout which keeps you interested.

The movie only had a limited US release (as The Concrete Jungle) in 1962.

Here at B-Movie HQ we use the binary system. The movie is a either a ZERO (give it away to the local thrift shop) or a ONE (keeper).

The Criminal is a keeper.