28 OCTOBER 1960, Page 27

gang, an intensely ambitious film that shows chaos with Lerner's

habitual polish and delibera- tion, and (with its new faces) really manages to show something of a young man's spiritual pro- gress across a decade.

The Criminal ('X' certificate) is a British film with a complete lack of British-film cosiness, and the uncompromising straightness and hard- nique) so apparent in most of our local efforts. With an American director, Joseph Losey, this