Scarlet Thread

Laurence Harvey tries to lift Sidney Tafler's wallet. Tafler calls him out on it, but does not call the nearby police. Instead, he takes him home, gives him dinner, and tells him that when he has a job for him, he'll send for him. The job is a smash-and-grab on a jeweler's window in Cambridge. Harvey shoots a man who tries to interfere, a crowd gets between them and their getaway car, which drives off. The men outrace the crowd and take refuge in the University, where they impose, due to Tafler's having gone to Trinity, on Kathleen Byron, whose father has gone to a meeting in London.

Lewis Gilbert does a nice job directing his first feature. After a look at the town and the university grounds, it turns into a nice study in Tafler's and Harvey's minds. Harvey is a punk, exhibiting the craziness he would use to advantage in future movies. There's also a nice bit of suspense in the situation, with the police looking for them with poor descriptions, and the fate of the shot man. There is a touch too much in the way of coincidence in the second half of the movie, but it's tightly plotted and it holds together well while watching it.