Doomsday at Eleven


Doomsday at Eleven is a 1962 British film directed by Theodore Zichy and starring Carl Jaffe, Alan Haywood and Stanley Morgan. The screenplay was by Paul Tabori. The film was produced by Jack Parsons.

Plot

WIlson, jailed for 10 years for betraying official secrets, wants revenge against the judge who put him away. He sends a package containing a time-bomb to the maternity hospital where the judge's wife, Angela, is expecting a baby. The bomb is discovered and the hospital evacuated, but due to their condition Angela and another patient cannot be moved. A bomb disposal team is called but are involved in an accident on the way. Wylie, the commanding officer, although injured, manages to reach the hospital and enlists the help of Peter Godwin, a policeman visiting his wife, and Stefan, a porter. They disarm the bomb, but its highly dangerous bottle of nitroglycerin remains, with its stopper jammed. Peter and Stefan take the bottle through a tunnel for its urgent disposal at sea, and on the way meet a tramp, Jeremiah, who suggests they cut through the glass with Stefan's diamond ring, which they successfully do.

Cast

The film was partially funded by the National [Film Finance Corporation]. It was shot at Shepperton Studios.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Grotesque melodrama, whose high-spot is the climactic crosscutting between Angela having a caesarean operation, and the three men carefully opening the explosive bottle with a diamond ring. One or two scenes are mildly effective – notably the attack from the rooftops and the eerie descent into the tube tunnel – but the whole thing is swamped by the grossly exaggerated heroics and incredibly foolish dialogue."