Fear Is the Key

Plot synopsis:
John Talbot is talking on radio to a girl and another man who are flying a plane. He hears them being machine gunned to death by another plane.
Some time later, Talbot appears in a small town in Louisiana, where he starts a fight with some local police. He is arrested and faces trial, where it is revealed he is wanted for killing a policeman and robbing a bank. Talbot escapes from the courtroom, shooting another policeman and kidnapping a woman, Sarah Ruthven.
A car chase ensues. Talbot and Sarah meet up with a mysterious man, Jablonsky, who reveals that Sara is the daughter of an oil millionaire.
Jablonsky turns Talbot and Sarah over to Sarah's father. There is a man working for him, Vyland, who hires Talbot for an unspecified task. Jablonsky is retained to guard Talbot. It is then revealed that Jablonsky and Talbot know each other and have arranged his whole scenario for an unspecified reason.
Late at night, Talbot sneaks out of the house and travels to an oil platform to search for something. When he returns he sees Vyland's henchmen burying something - it is Jablonsky's body.
Talbot then sneaks into Sarah's room and makes a confession: all the events up until the present time, except for the brawl in the town, are part of a scheme. The brawl was to get Talbot into court. The shootout in court was faked; Talbot shot the policeman with blanks. Sarah was invited there deliberately so she could be kidnapped. Everything was set up to get Talbot and Jablonsky into the house. Talbot says her father used his money for a stake in a salvage operation but didn't know about Vyland, and that Sarah and her father are in danger, especially after the death of Jablonsky. Talbot asks Sarah for her help, although he won't say what his plan is or what is going on.
Talbot is hired to operate a submersible for an unspecified project. He goes to an oil platform with Sarah, Ruthven, Vyland, Royale and Larry. Talbot deliberately delays the launch of the submersible.
Larry begins to suspect Talbot and pulls a gun on him but falls off the platform and dies. With Sarah's help, Talbot then kills another of Vyland's men. He calls for help back on the mainland but the authorities can not fly there because of the storm. He is forced to enter the submersible with Vyland and Royale.
The sumbersible approaches the wreck of a DC-3. Vyland admits to Talbot he is looking for cargo. Talbot says he knows what the cargo is - over $80 million in uncut diamonds. Talbot then switches off the oxygen and tells Vyland and Royale they will die in six minutes.
Talbot says the diamonds were a payment from the Colombian government to buy arms during a revolution. They hired a plane from a small airline, Talbot's, but it was shot down by people who knew what was on the flight. Talbot says the plane contained his brother, wife and 3-year-old son. He has planned his revenge over three years.
Talbot tells Vyland and Royale he is willing to die on the ocean floor beside his family. He asks who ordered the destruction of the plane. Vyland confesses it was him, which is heard by Talbot's associates on the oil platform via microphone. Royale shoots Vyland dead. He then confesses to killing Jablonsky. Talbot turns on the oxygen and returns to the surface.

Tags: revenge, murder

Review:
One of the All Time Great Adventure Movies You've Probably Never Heard About.
I was browsing the commentary track on the DVD release of Soderbergh's movie *The Limey* where he and screenwriter Lem Dobbs are talking about Barry Newman and movies with cool chases...
Lem Dobbs just so happens to mention his fondness for "Fear is the Key" and it's cool car chase sequence, etc., Once I hear the words "movie" and "cool car chase" in the same sentence my interest automatically goes through the roof...
as there is nothing better I like than a movie with a cool car chase in it.
When I was at Tarantino's 4th Annual Film Fest I asked him about the movie and he hadn't even seen it (though he just had gotten a print of it).
So here for this huge period of time was this movie I had been building up and dying to see...Well at last I finally got to see it (as I found a place that was legit and sold copies of it) and was not let down in the slightest though I will say the last 5 minutes of the movie has one of the most original and intense endings I've ever seen.
The movie is worth watching for seeing a tour de force performance by Barry Newman, the very very gorgeous Suzy Kendall (whom was also in Torso), and a pre-Gandhi Ben Kingsley (with hair), a very electrifying and long car chase that is one of the coolest car chases I've ever seen in a movie, and the last 5 minutes which just sucks you in and makes you forget your watching a movie...
It drifts along for the first couple of minutes and then *BAM* it takes off like a bat out of hell and never slows down until the credits roll at the end.
It is one of those few action/adventure movies where you aren't quite sure what is going to happen next, which way it will twist, nor are you really sure of the intentions or alliances that any of the characters...
it just literally takes you on a wild ride of adventure and intrigue.The car chase sequence which goes on for quite some time (like around 10 minutes or so) is just one of the all time coolest car chases you will see in a movie.
but it is cool in it's own unique way of sorta of throwing out the usual movie rules cliche that you can only have a car chase on a road.
In this movie if a car is coming down the road right at Barry Newman...
Which makes the scene electrifying with movie coolness.I would talk about the ending more but...
it would be a huge injustice to say anything other than it was my favorite part of the movie and I'm surprise a James Bond film hasn't ripped it off yet.Barry Newman shines John Talbot and puts on a tour de force type of performance that is so friggin good and cool!
You rarely ever get such a cool acting performance in a action/adventure type movie...
yet Barry Newman here shows why he was one of the best and coolest actors of the 70's and even today!I will say I just loved loved Suzy Kendall in this movie.
I had previous seen Suzy in the movie Torso so I was already a big fan of her work.Alistair Maclaine who wrote the novel to which the movie is based on is known for full throttle engaging novels full of adventure that once they get into gear they grab a hold of you until the very end.
You can chalk this one as another one of Alistair's novels that was made into a great movie (Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, Where Eagles Dare, are some of the other and more well known).So I am very thankful now to Lem Dobbs who inspired me to see this fine flick and hopefully now I can spread that onto others now to see this forgotten but great movie..
Fine actioner based on Alistair MacLane's novel holds a few surprises for those lucky enough to catch this underrated gem.
An unorthodox and at times bitty script is held together by an amiable cast including a young Ben Kingsley (debuting with a full head of hair) surprisingly in his only film before his Oscar winning performance of 'Ghandi' ten years later.The screenplay is a crafty one, with Barry Newman ploughing through the first half of the film seemingly out of control and playing a role hauntingly similar to his one in 'Vanishing Point' keeping the viewer guessing what's going to happen next and why.
Though the ending may not quite reach some viewers expectations, it does wrap things up succinctly, making the thrills on the way (including a fine car chase that bursts from a courthouse breakout) all the more worthwhile..
It begins with the same male hero we see in all movies made after 1940, a man so vicious and mean that the movie's idea is to turn your thinking around about the guy.
The character in the movie is the key, and the screen writing, directing, and acting are superb.
Barry Newman is great in the lead role , and although the plot is a bit far-fetched in places, it is great entertainment and has a good twist at the end , but I do think the underwater scenes looked a bit like the bottom of a goldfish pond !
If you like the car chases in VANISHING POINT....
I watched this adaptation of an Alistair MacLean novel tonight and it is fantastic.
Barry Newman stars as John Talbot, a drifter who ends up getting into it with the local police in a parish in Louisiana.
He gets hauled before a judge but breaks out of the courtroom, taking oil heiress Sarah Ruthven (Suzy Kendall) hostage in the process.
The first half hour is comprised of an amazing car chase that is right up there with the likes of THE FRENCH CONNECTION.
Seriously, this is one of the greatest (and unheralded) car chases of all-time (courtesy of VANISHING POINT's stunt coordinator Cary Loftin).
Newman, also fresh off that other car chase epic VANISHING POINT, is quite good as the mysterious Talbot.
Supporting turns include John Vernon (I wonder if he a good guy), Dolph Sweet and a weaselly looking guy in his film debut named Ben Kingsley.
Firstly I will say that this film definitely has an impact like the original 'Planet of Apes' with the late great Charlton Heston.However, with multiple viewing you will discover more and more about the lead character 'Talbot' - so believably played out by the under-rated talented actor Barry Newman, and the storyline will become even more engaging.
I would simply recommend you either buy the DVD or await the Blue-Ray version when it comes out from the date I have posted this review.The supporting cast is very good, including Dolph Sweet, John Vernon, earliest appearance of Ben Kingsley (with some hair still) and the lovely Suzy Kendall.It is not until near the end of the film that you realise where the film is actually going with it's unique ending inside a mini-submarine (or Bath-Escape as it was called) called the Fathom.
The car chase is well choreographed and in a Smokey and the Bandit style - even longer than the car chases in Bullitt and French Connection.Without going into too much detail, I have not read the book by the classic novelist Alistair MaClean, but if it is even better than the theatre adaptation of the story then maybe one day I will have to seek out the book, because this film, despite it's old age is a classic in my mind.Find it, and I guarantee you will like it a lot.
It takes a bit of getting used to when seeing Barry Newman in a role like this, because he definitely has an 'un-likely' hero look about him.
It's based on a novel by Alistair MacLean that I should imagine few people have heard of, and it stars Barry Newman of VANISHING POINT fame.
The fact that it was a flop on release means that I'd never heard of it before I saw it showing on TV.The film begins with an electrifying opening, full of twists, sudden violence, and high speed action.
Then we get a lengthy, well-shot car chase clearly included to capitalise on Newman's reputation as a 'car chase' actor, before the movie settles into a rather bogged-down, if not confusing, storyline.
Newman is an acceptable hero but I was particularly excited to see Euro-starlet Suzy Kendall's (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE) appearance.
The by rote villain duties are provided by John Vernon, but the real standout is an incredibly youthful Ben Kingsley - yes, complete with his own head of hair - as a henchman.
By the end of its running time, FEAR IS THE KEY has offered up plentiful action, some convoluted plotting, and just a few decent twists, and I thought it passed the time well for what it is..
Ben Kingsley with hair takes some adjusting to, but his acting is solid.
The movie itself is extremely uneven, with a grabber opening, followed by a prolonged car chase that seems like it was yanked right out of a "Smokey and the Bandit" movie.
Drawn from Alistair McLean's book of the same name this is a solid thriller that twists and turns nicely throughout.
Barry Newman is good as Talbot, the character who finds himself drawn into shady dealings.
While the mobsters are adequate (including an early appearance by Ben Kingsley!).The twist are good but if you've read the book it really takes away from the movie as there is not a whole lot else to hold the interest.
However the twists keep you guessing what people's motives are almost up till the end - having said that it's not in the league of Se7en or Usual Suspects so don't expect too much.The ending is a strange anti-climax to the film, I won't give it away but it is rather muted considering the plot up till that point.Overall a good story but let down by a lack of any real extended tension and a disappointing conclusion.
I must have read every Alistair MacLean novel growing up so I'm sure I've read this one in the distant past though I don't recall anything about it nor do I think I ever saw this movie before.
I know Barry Newman from his last-minute-lawyer Petrocelli TV role later in the decade but he's possibly better here as John Talbot, a man on a mission although, while the mission is indicated only cryptically at the beginning, it becomes crystal clear by the end.Until it does, the film narrative leaves criss-crossing dust-trails as to his motives and in so doing seems to conform to other early 70's adventure movies with a violent courtroom escape, lengthy car chase and the hostage-taking of a pretty girl but once the reveal is made as to what his intentions are, the plot plays out to a surprisingly taut, claustrophobic finish and not the crash-bang-wallop affair you might have expected after the all-action beginning.For a British B-movie, the production values are surprisingly high as witness the scenes inside the bathysphere, during the storm and of course the ten minute plus car chase.
Newman turns in a terse, committed performance and there's good support from main villain John Vernon, his main henchman, a young Ben Kingsley on his film debut and Dolph Sweet as an ex-cop private detective who gets caught in the slipstream of events.
Suzy Kendall mostly plays the role she and Susan George almost played by rote around this time although she does show some moxy coming to Newman's aid in a fight scene.As for the direction, I appreciated the subversion of the traditional adventure movie plotting of the time by starting the action loudly and finishing it all quietly but effectively.
Roy "Get Carter" Budd also delivers a background score which does all that an early 70's soundtrack needs to do.All in all a watchable and entertaining thriller with more than one twist in the tale..
I like Alistair MacLean's books, so I approached this film with a sense of dread.
Fortunately, this is perhaps the best of all the MacLean's film adaptations.
It begins with the most extraordinary car chase imaginable (far better than the much touted one in The French Connection) and never relaxes from that point on.
To reveal much of the plot would be a spoiler, but suffice to say that the hero spends most of the film acting as the bad guy, trying to confuse some crooks that he's on their side so that he can get into their organisation and carry out his terrible revenge plan.
Barry Newman is terrific as the hero, in a role similar to his Vanishing Point character.
John Vernon is a mean villain, too, and Dolph Sweet has a short but pivotal role as a friendly insider.
The title is some kind of misnomer.I would rather call the film " Appearances are the key".The beginning of the film is triteness ,routine thriller : car chase,hostage-taking,fighting...But little by little we begin to realize that all that we are watching is like a trompe-l'oeil painting.Things are not what they seem.You've got to pay attention during the very first scene -a very tragic one,which is given a thoroughly neuter even inhuman treatment-,cause the answer to the questions you ask yourselves only comes at the end.The final sequences pack a real wallop ,particularly when we see the plane.This film was almost an anomaly in the seventies scene:to think that at the time the blockbusters were "dirty Harry" and "Shaft" .Talbot is finally much more human than the two superheroes."Fear is the key" has a contemporary feel ,but no remake needed..
One of the best Alistair Maclean Film/Novels Ever!.
Underrated in both cinematic and musical score terms, Fear is the iconic embodiment, of seventies real action cinema, without the gadgets.
Barry Newman(Petrocelli) and Vanishing Point, the original!
Class performances from John Vernon, The charismatic Tony Anholt (The Protectors/Space 1999) put this movie in a league up there with few others.
A "9" minute car chase to rival any.
Watching Fear Is the Key is almost exactly like reading Alistair MacLean's adventure novel on which the movie is based.
Or any of MacLean's adventure novels, for that matter.
He knew how to set up a plot that would capture a reader straight off, and then never let the tempo slow down, always building one readable action sequence after another, however improbable.
It holds up as a good action read to finish in a day or two.
(Louisiana bayous and tidal swamps are great places to imagine.) Fear Is the Key, the movie, has a lot of action.
The opening, like so many of MacLean's books, has great hooks.
John Talbot (Barry Newman), grim and surly, is driving down the Louisiana coast looking for trouble.
He finds it, slugging cops, insulting a judge, making a courtroom escape and shooting a court constable, taking a young woman hostage and then spending the next 15 minutes or so on one of the longest car chases I've seen.
It's kind of boring after awhile because it goes on for so long and -- key point here -- we have no idea what this tough guy's motivation could be.
It's forty minutes before the outline of some reasonable motivation takes shape and 60 minutes before the point of the movie is reached.
The last forty minutes, however, when plot and motivation finally meet, turn out to be satisfyingly brutal and filled to the brim with revenge.
Along the way, in addition to Newman, we meet a puzzling big business natural gas owner played by Ray McAnally; his daughter (the hostage) played by Suzy Kendall; a smoothie crook played by John Vernon; a possibly corrupt cop played by Dolph Sweet (in a fine performance) and a cool hit man with a nearly full head of dark hair played by a young Ben Kingsley.
Newman, who played tough guy heroes in a number of movies during this time, is grim and capable to a fault.
In my opinion, Barry Newman was a fine actor when he wasn't called upon to be this kind of Hollywood hero.
The movie, like Alistair MacLean's books, gives us action and more action, sketchy motivation and enough loose ends to make a big ball of yarn.
'Fear Is The Key' is an underrated action movie from 1972, based on the bestselling novel by Alistair Maclean.
Much of his stuff was filmed, including 'The Guns Of Navarone', 'The Satan Bug', 'Ice Station Zebra', and 'Puppet On A Chain'.'Fear' opens in Louisiana, as an unnamed man ( Barry Newman ) is in radio contact with a plane.
Before he can be sentenced, Talbot escapes, taking Suzy as hostage.
In a stolen car, they are chased relentlessly.That's enough plot.
A very good supporting cast includes John Vernon and Ben Kingsley ( in his first movie role ).Roy Budd wrote the music, and as you'd expect coming from the guy who scored 'Get Carter' its first-rate.The action is fast ( that car chase goes on forever!
), and Newman looks cool as the hero.
Action takes precedence over characterization in "Fear Is The Key", but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Some of the plot twists are rather obvious, and John Vernon's casting gives away the identity of the chief bad guy almost instantly.
Not that he doesn't make an excellent bad guy, as does Ben Kingsley, playing a seriously creepy hit-man in his film debut.
Barry Newman is a solid antihero who sheds the "anti" as the film proceeds.
Suzy Kendall is beautiful but not asked to do much, except for her participation in one close-quarters fight scene where she tries to help Newman.