Bang! Youre Dead

Plot

Cliff Bonsell (Richmond) lives a solitary life with his widowed father (Warner) in a hut on a decommissioned American army munitions stores depot in rural England. He has few friends, his main companion being the slightly older Willy Maxted (Barrett), a quiet and introverted child who lives nearby with his grandmother (Beatrice Varley). Cliff has developed a fascination for guns from films he has seen, regarding them as fun toys with which to play imaginitive games. Willy's main interest is his gramophone record collection.

Cliff discovers an old army revolver left behind at the depot and is thrilled to have found a realistic toy to play with. He and Willy are out together when they come across unpopular local Ben Jones (Philip Saville). Cliff decides to tease him by threatening him with the gun cowboy-style. When Jones refuses to play along, Cliff pulls the trigger, not realising that the gun is still loaded with live bullets. Jones collapses and the pair at first think he is play-acting, but soon realise that he is dead. They flee the scene in panic.

Jones' body is discovered shortly afterwards by Bob Carter (Michael Medwin), who alerts the local police. However, when investigating detective Gray (Derek Farr) learns that Carter and Jones had recently been involved in a fight over the attentions of the flirtatious Hilda (Veronica Hurst), Carter becomes the main suspect and is taken in for questioning. Cliff and Willy become increasingly tormented as they try to weigh up whether it is better to let an innocent man be punished, or to confess to what actually happened and face what they see as the fearful consequences. Meanwhile, Grey gradually comes to realise that the case may not be as clear-cut as it first appeared.

Cast

Reception

The Time Out Film Guide describes it as "a strange little film (which) can't make up its mind whether it's a thriller or a piece of social conscience, but the performance of the boy lends it charm."