Was very intrigued by the idea for the story for 'The Intruder'. The cast, including Jack Hawkins, George Cole and Dennis Price, were appetising, some good talent here. Plus it was directed by Guy Hamilton in his second film as director (his first being 'The Ringer'), Hamilton was an uneven director to me but he also did do some great work such as 'Evil Under the Sun', 'The Colditz Story', 'An Inspector Calls' and 'Goldfinger'.
Personally didn't find 'The Intruder' a great film as such, but still found it mostly well done and with a good deal to admire. Wouldn't go as far to call it a must see and it is not really among the best work of everybody involved, having said that 'The Intruder' strikes me as a film deserving of more credit and not as one barely known/shown today (or at least over-shadowed by those wider advertised or with even bigger names involved).
'The Intruder' maybe took a little too long to get going as a result of being bogged down by a few of the flashbacks where momentum was not always there (the Arthur Howard subplot agreed doesn't add a lot) and Hamilton's directorial inexperience showed a bit. Occasionally, it makes its points a touch too heavily, though not to the extent of feeling talked down to.
It did feel anti-climactic at the end and didn't leave as startling an impact as it could have done.
For all those drawbacks though, 'The Intruder' came over mostly as a film that was done with intelligence and taste. The titular character is written with plenty of meat and compelling realism, even if the other characters are not quite as rich, while the atmosphere does wrench the gut and resonate emotionally and the dialogue is thought-provoking.
Most of the story is compelling, and handled intelligently and sensitively, allowing for some powerful moments. It is always easy to follow and didn't come over as disjointed or episodic. The production values are more than competent and quite beautifully done. The cast do a great job, Hawkins playing his character with hugely effective force and compassion and Michael Medwin giving a wholly convincing portrait of a flawed person worth rooting for. Cole and Price are scene stealers, as is bubbly Dora Bryan.
On the whole, a decent film if not a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox
