Rare Flix: Five Minutes to Live (w/ Johnny Cash!)

Never trust the Man in Black!  Today's Film is Five Minutes to Live, a 1961 Thriller most notable for its Casting.  Yes, I gave it away in the Title.  To be fair, the point was to get you to read this and, well, who remembers/knows what this Movie is?  That's why I'm here.  The Plot involves two Robbers, an innocent family and some very tense waits for phone calls.  This is Cash's first Film- he did some TV before- and it's notable that he's playing a bad guy here.  He goes all-in too.  He's just a bad, bad guy.  I'm sure he had fun messing with people's expectations at the time.  This was later marketed as Door-to-Door Maniac, implying a Plot that really isn't there!  Hollywood, folks!  Is the Film interesting outside of his Casting?  To find out, read on...

In a Cold Open, this man begins to tell the tale of Cash's Character.  Who is he talking to and why?

We learn that Cash and a friend were set-up on a job and the latter was killed.  Cash killed 2 Cops and fled to California.

Yes, lots of 'Tell, don't Show.'

Cash and his lady hear about a job and meet a man for it, who hires him, but also claims to know his girlfriend under a different name.

That night, before the job, Cash straight up kills her based on that man's word!

Who says that there are no good roles for Women?

The plan- one of them holds the Assistant Bank Manager's Wife hostage, while the other gets the money.

The kid is Ron Howard too.  Neat.

The one wrinkle- said Manager is also having an affair, so the threat may weaker than they thought.

The bulk of the Film from hereon out is Cash messing with/abusing the wife, while the partner tries to get the money.  There's a series of tense moments where you wonder if the next call will come in.

As melodramatic as the Film is, this stuff works.

The plan falls apart as Bank Security- unknowingly- endangers the wife.  A late assist by a nagging Neighbor buys her time and the Police show up.

Cash freaks out when it appears that the child- who he took as a hostage- is shot.  He goes down.

...but the kid was just faking it.  Maybe he is a better Actor than we thought.

Oh and the Narrator was being interrogated by the Police, since he was the guy in the Bank.  The End.

A better Film than I thought.  I watched it *solely* due to it being a Johnny Cash Film.  Do you blame me?  That said, the Film is actually pretty effective.  Cash plays a truly-bad guy.  He kills his long-time girlfriend based on the word of a stranger.  He abuses a woman to make some money.  His only weakness, it seems, is children.  He refuses to do the job when the kid is seen, but he's assured that he won't play a part.  Obviously, he still does and it spells the end for Cash here.  It's weird that a Film like this reminds me of In Bruges, right?  I will say that the excess drama- the affair- is pretty superfluous and could easily be excised.  The real Star here is Cash, playing a downright cruel bastard.  He's almost *too effective* at it sometimes.  The rest of their Cast has their moments.  Howard as the sassy kid is fun in small bursts, the 'wife' is effective at showing a bit of range and the 'husband' (who you may recognize from 13 Ghosts) has a little nuance at times too.  It won't blow you away, but it's a decent Thriller that really shines when Cash is in focus.  I know- I'm shocked too!

Next time, I jump back to the 1980s for some trashy fun.  Which 'gem' will I unearth next?  Stay tuned...