The Sleeping Tiger

Newly restored and available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, this British Film Noir from 1954 stars Dirk Bogarde in the role of a young criminal who finds himself in the position of a ‘human guinea pig’ after holding up a wealthy psychiatrist at gunpoint doesn’t exactly go according to plan…

We start in a dark London alleyway where two young men, both of them criminals, are up to no good. One of them is Frank Clemmons (D. Bogarde) – a lad of middle class background who is extremely sure of himself and prefers to earn a quick penny via every route except a legal one. When he holds up respected psychiatrist Dr. Clive Esmond (Alexander Knox) outside the doctor’s luxurious home by putting a gun under his nose, he hasn’t counted on the fact that Esmond is not someone easily intimidated… far from it, he manages to overpower Frank. To the criminals’ surprise, however, Esmond doesn’t turn him over to the coppers but instead comes up with a proposition: if Frank agrees to come and live in his place as a ‘house guest’ and is willing to undergo intense psychoanalysis given his violent tendencies, then he won’t call the police. Half amused by the scenario, Frank agrees and it doesn’t take long before he begins to play nasty mind games with Sally (Patricia McCarron), the housemaid. So afraid is she of him that she plans on handing in her notice as soon as Glenda (Alexis Smith), the doctor’s glamorous wife, has returned from a holiday abroad. When Glenda returns, she too isn’t exactly impressed with her husband’s idea of having a ‘human guinea pig’ living in the house, and an incredibly rude and cocky one at that.

After several attempts to leave her position (every time she tries, Frank keeps on tormenting her), Maid Sally finally manages to flee after an angry Glenda has an argument with Frank. Angry… ah yes! Perhaps Dr. Esmond wouldn’t have gone wrong in asking his wife to undergo a bit of psychoanalysis because we already know what she doesn’t seem to know yet – namely that she feels very much attracted to Frank, a good-looking man who screams ‘mad, bad and dangerous’ to know and is the complete opposite of her work-obsessed, considerably older and quite frankly dull husband. We can only assume that Glenda married him for his money and status.

Gradually, Glenda and Frank grow closer and he even agrees when she asks him to take her along to a hip nightclub in Soho although her first impression of the joint isn’t exactly a good one. Meanwhile, and with Frank allowed to come and go as he pleases, a smash ‘n’ grab occurs and soon a local Inspector (Hugh Griffith) turns up at Dr. Esmond’s house, sure of the fact that Frank was behind the robbery. Not wishing to compromise his ‘experiment’ the doctor lies to the Inspector that Frank was in the house all night long – a lie corroborated by his wife who has her own reasons as to why she doesn’t want to see Frank going to prison. Only the doctor’s assistant Carol (Maxine Audley) is taken aback when she witnesses the couple lie to the Inspector but plays along with it.

Some weeks later, Glenda and Frank appear to be an item and make plans to leave London for a future together, meaning Frank is busy preparing one last ‘job’… Once again, the Inspector comes knocking at Esmond’s door as he is certain that Frank is behind the latest robbery and once again the psychiatrist lies to him. Despite Frank despising the doctor, Esmond manages to get to the bottom of things and during an intense session Frank reveals why he has become the person he is – prompting the doctor to help him further. When Frank considers himself to be cured and a better person, he has second thoughts about running off with Glenda, after all, he does owe the doctor a great deal. Surprise surprise, an increasingly angry and hysterical Glenda is having none of it and – with her personal happiness in jeopardy – is prepared to go to any length in order not to lose Frank - it will prove a decision with a fatal outcome…

The story builds up tension throughout although it seems somewhat far-fetched that after all those years of criminal activity, Frank suddenly finds himself cured just because a psychoanalyst manages to dig up the root cause – if only life were as simple. Dirk Bogarde is in top form as a thug with sadistic tendencies and is amply supported by Alexis Smith as the disenchanted wife of Dr. Esmond. The odd title by the way refers to the old chestnut that there’s a beast asleep in all of us and can be woken at anytime depending on circumstances. Eagle eyes will spot a very young Billie Whitelaw as a receptionist who is threatened by Frank.

On its initial theatrical release, Victor Hanbury, the film’s producer, was credited as director rather than Joseph Losey. Blacklisted at the time after refusing to testify before the 1951 House Committee on Un-American Activities, and in desperate need of work, Losey convinced the producer to take the credit.

THE SLEEPING TIGER is also available on DVD and Digital and offers the following Extras Material: Interview with D. Bogardes’ official biographer John Coldstream, new interview with journalist and cultural historian Matthew Sweet, plus ‘Behind the Scenes’ stills gallery.