Movie Review: Five Minutes to Live (1961)
Synopsis: Hardened criminal Johnny Cabot is recruited by bank robber Fred Dorella for his latest heist. Cabot's job is to hold Nancy Wilson hostage in her home while Dorella demands $70,000 from her husband, Ken, the bank's vice president and to kill Nancy if he doesn't receive a phone call confirming the bank robbery's success. As the minutes wind down, Borella discovers an unexpected complication - Ken has been having an affair, plans on leaving his wife and Nancy's death would make it easier for him to marry his mistress.
The movie also has the alternative title Door-to-Door Maniac.
Who's in it? The movie stars Johnny Cash, Donald Woods, Cay Forester, Vic Tayback, Pamela Mason and Ron Howard.
Review: While I do consider myself a Johnny Cash fan, I had completely forgotten the legendary country singer also had an acting career until I came across Five Minutes to Live on one of my movie channels. I was intrigued enough to watch it this morning and was very impressed.
I think the thing that surprised me most about this film was Cash. Since this was, at best, a secondary career for him, I honestly wasn't expecting a whole lot from him, but he turned out to be a talented actor.
I especially loved how his character, Johnny Cabot, was a real villain and not just a guy forced into being one. Cabot was unpredictable, violent and possibly even a bit insane. As a result, there were times when it looked like he intended to rape Nancy (Forester) or even kill her for the fun of it. Plus, he had moments of pure rage from something as simple as an oven timer going off. At the same time, he seemed to have a moral line when it came to Nancy's son, Bobby (Howard).
The plot itself was intriguing because the second it was revealed her husband, Ken (Woods) was seeing another woman and just trying to find the right time to tell Nancy he wanted a divorce, Dorella's plan seemed a lot less likely to be successful. As the minutes turned into seconds, it was unclear if Ken had any feelings left for his wife/mother of his child, or if he saw her murder as an opportunity.
Adding to all of it was the dependence on the home phone which, due to Nancy's active "mom" lifestyle was constantly ringing for non-bank-robbery-related reasons. Since this was filmed long before cell phones and even call waiting were a thing, each of those calls increased the chances of Cabot missing the call he was waiting for or Nancy asking the person on the other end of the line for help.
The end of the film was suspenseful and entertaining, especially when things went even further south and it looked as though Nancy's death was going to be unavoidable, even with Bobby unexpectedly returning home and being in the room. There was also a fleeting moment when the movie looked like it was going to have a tragic twist for an ending as well as a last-second surprise reveal regarding what, at least at first, seemed like pure luck on Nancy's part.
Final Opinion: There is a reason Johnny Cash is a legend, and this movie, along with his ability to do more than just be a country singer, is a great example of it. I recommend taking the time to watch it.
My Grade: A
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