The Intruder

A film set in Britain after the war. Wolf Merton is a former tank officer. Coming home one night he realises someone is inside. He catches the burglar and recognises his face: the man served under him in the war. The man gets away. Rather than go to the police, Merton decides to look for him; what he wants to understand is how a man he trusted in the war ended up like this. The film tells it in flashback. Merton finds his old comrades, his officers and the man's family; each meeting opens another piece. Once the war ended nobody was concerned with what became of him; he could not find work, no records were kept, and he was gradually left outside. The subject is not crime but what happened to the men who came back. It was a live argument in Britain at the time and the film goes straight into it. Jack Hawkins plays Merton; George Cole and Dennis Price are in the cast. Guy Hamilton's first film as director. A little-known example for anyone who likes postwar British cinema and social drama. For a viewer expecting suspense, the film proceeds like an investigation and the crime stays in the background.