TEN SECONDS TO HELL is one of the most atypical Hammer films I can remember seeing. Other than a few technical credits this has no connection to other Hammer films whatsoever. It's a post-war thriller, shot in Germany by Hollywood director Robert Aldrich, with an American cast including Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler. The film is very much like THE HURT LOCKER of its day, featuring a bomb squad working through the ruins of a bombed-out Berlin, striving to save the populace from unexploded ordnance. What follows is a character-based study in duty, camaraderie and fear, bolstered by some fine bomb-defusing suspense sequences. Chandler and Palance work well together and if this isn't as good as THE HURT LOCKER that's no surprise; it's still gripping for its day.
Review of Ten Seconds to Hell
