Seven Days to Noon

When an atomic scientist (Jones) entertains serious doubts about his work and promises to blow up London unless the government rids Britain of nuclear weapons, rumours of war spread, panic grows, and the suspense is killing. Still relevant and surprisingly powerful, Seven Days to Noon impresses by its ambiguity: while we sympathise with the ordinary Londoners menaced by the professor's drastic policy, and are told by politicians and boffins that he is mad from overwork, what we see is an intelligent, sane man of intense, apolitical commitment. London, both in the grip of evacuation and deserted, is beautifully evoked by the noir-ish camerawork, and John Addison's Herrmannesque score helps to keep the atmosphere nervy. Only the cosy Cockney cameos (all pluck and chatter) deflate the otherwise carefully sustained paranoia.