Five Minutes to Live (1961)

Five Minutes to Live (1961). 1h 20m | Approved

“This strange little B-movie was originally titled FIVE MINUTES TO LIVE, but was re-released in 1966 as DOOR-TO-DOOR MANIAC because Cashu0026#39; star had risen considerably in those years. He stars as Johnny Cabot, a level-headed murderer who teams up with another con (Tayback) in a scheme to hold a bank presidentu0026#39;s wife hostage. But what they donu0026#39;t know is that the bank president is planning to run off to Las Vegas with his mistress and couldnu0026#39;t care less about his wife.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe production values are close to zero complete with bad direction, dragging scenes and an all out over-the-top music score, more reminiscent of your average bad u0026#39;50s Sci-fi flick. Nevertheless, the film does have a certain suspense and the dialog is surprisingly snappy and tongue-in-cheek with some unexpected twists along the way. Itu0026#39;s fascinating to see Johnny Cash in a dramatic role, although he is not much of an actor, but with this material and production values, I can hardly blame him. He has a natural charisma, but comes across as anxious, even when heu0026#39;s supposed to be relaxed, rolling with his eyes. He was probably coked out of his head. If you could call it a flaw, he never ceases to be Johnny Cash, even his characteru0026#39;s first name is Johnny. On top of that, he always carries his guitar with him and belts out the song u0026quot;Five Minutes to liveu0026quot; a couple of times. Obviously the makers wanted to cash in on Cashu0026#39;s presence by making his character even more Cash than he already is… sorry for the bad wordplay.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe transfer to the DVD didnu0026#39;t help much, but was probably the best copy they could find. Itu0026#39;s all washed out, especially the lighter colours have washed out almost completely. The sound is OK and very loud. When I normally put the volume at, letu0026#39;s say, 5, with this film it was still hollering across the room at volume 2. Very strange, the loudest DVD I ever watched. I donu0026#39;t wanna end up defending this one, but for some reason I watched this with interest till the closing titles. If you already have a weakness for mediocre B-flics from the period and have an interest in Johnny Cash as well, mildly recommended. For others, itu0026#39;s probably of little interest.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCamera Obscura — 6/10”