Brit Noir Collection III [Nowhere to Go | The Man Upstairs | Payroll] (Blu-ray) ***Preorder*** 8/11

Unearth these hidden treasures of late-period Brit noir, each fully loaded with raw realism and stark suspense. Nowhere to Go (1958) – A Canadian criminal (George Nader) busts out of a London jail and attempts to retrieve his stashed loot, but he has nowhere to go except into the arms of a disillusioned socialite (Maggie Smith in her first screen credit). This stylish thriller, Ealing Studios’ penultimate production, was dubbed “the least Ealing film ever made” by its director, Seth Holt (Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb). The Man Upstairs (1958) – Richard Attenborough hauntingly portrays a man slowly losing his mind while living in a dingy London boardinghouse. Plagued by the belief that he was responsible for a man’s death, his unstable mental state soon leads to a dangerous and potentially disastrous situation. A nerve-shattering character drama directed by Don Chaffey (Jason and the Argonauts) from the novel by Graham Greene (The Third Man). Payroll (1961) – Traversing the seedy side of northeast England some ten years before Get Carter, a streetwise scoundrel (Michael Craig) and his cohorts plan and execute a high-risk wages heist. However, with the authorities and a vengeful widow (Billie Whitelaw) in close pursuit, the gang quickly spirals out of control. A cracking cult caper directed by suspense specialist Sidney Hayers (Circus of Horrors).