''Five Minutes to Live'' is a 1961

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Bill Karn. It was re-titled ''Door-to-Door Maniac'' for an

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

re-release in 1966. The film stars

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, who wrote and sang the title song, and

Cay Forrester Cay Forrester (born Mila Patricia Crosby; December 26, 1921 – June 18, 2005) was an American film and television actress. She appeared predominantly in minor films with some exceptions, such as ''Advise and Consent'' and the Susan Haywa ...

, who wrote the screenplay and whose husband, Ludlow Flower, produced. ''Five Minutes to Live'' was one of only two theatrical film roles in which Cash performed on-screen in his career (while he appeared in ''

The Road to Nashville ''The Road to Nashville'' is a 1967 American musical film directed by Will Zens and starring Marty Robbins and Connie Smith."The Road to Nashville". ''Films in Review'', Volume 30. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, 1979. Plot A Hol ...

'' six years later, it was as himself in a musical; ''

A Gunfight ''A Gunfight'' is a 1971 American Western film directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash. The film was financed by the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, although there are no leading Native American characters in the story. ...

'', ten years later, was the other); he would appear in several made-for-

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s and do some voice-over work in film later in his career.

Plot

Fred sits in a dark room, detailing his most recent bank robbery. He talks about how he teamed up with hardened criminal Johnny Cabot to execute his plan. Cabot is about to take the wife of the bank's vice president hostage. He holds her until he receives a call from Fred, informing him that they have the ransom money. Cabot watches the Wilson house as the husband leaves for work, and their son heads off to school. Posing as a door-to-door guitar instructor, Cabot talks his way into the house, and takes Nancy Wilson hostage. At the bank, Fred enters vice president Ken Wilson's office, and hands him a check for $70,000, informing Wilson that he will withdraw the funds to cover the ransom or his wife will die. He tells Wilson to call home for proof that Nancy is being held hostage, then informs him that if he does not call Cabot back in five minutes, Mrs. Wilson will die. Wilson surprisingly responds that he has been planning to leave his wife anyway, and runs off to Las Vegas with his mistress, Ellen. He tells Fred that he will be doing him a favor by killing his wife. Fred does not believe that Wilson will let his wife die. He is proven correct, as time ticks by, when Wilson finally cracks and agrees to pay the ransom. Fred calls Cabot, and starts the clock over again. After the five minutes have passed, Fred works on Wilson to hurry. Meanwhile, at the Wilson house, Cabot is enjoying terrorizing his hostage. He begins forcing her to listen to his songs about her impending demise, shooting at her and making sexual advances toward her. Back at the bank, Fred has been taken down by the police, who arrived after someone tripped the silent alarm. As a result, Cabot starts to become nervous, having not received his expected call from Fred. Suddenly, Little Bobby comes in, home for lunch. The police arrive outside the house. In a panic, Cabot grabs Bobby and runs for it, running right into police gunfire. Bobby pretends as though he has been shot in order to encourage Cabot to put him down. After apparently being very upset by the accidental shooting of the young boy, Cabot fires back, and is killed by police. Nancy runs outside to find her son, still alive and well. The film ends with Fred finishing his story to the police, then Mr. Wilson driving to Las Vegas, but with his wife, not his mistress.

Cast

as Johnny Cabot *

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...

as Ken Wilson *

as Nancy Wilson *

Pamela Mason Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

as Ellen Harcourt *

Vic Tayback Victor E. Tayback (January 6, 1930 – May 25, 1990) was an American actor. He is known for his role as Mel Sharples in the film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1974) and the television series '' Alice'' (1976–1985). The latter earned him ...

as Fred Dorella *

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

as Bobby Wilson (credited as Ronnie Howard) *

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

as Max *

Midge Ware Midge Ware Colton (born Muriel Florence Bendelson; October 20, 1927 – June 3, 2020) was an American model and stage, screen and television actress. She had a over 30 years career in show business. Early life Born in The Bronx, New York, ...

as Doris Johnson *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Priscilla Auerbach

Reception

Critical

The movie holds a 50% score on

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based on 4 critical reviews, citing a mixed rating. It has since become a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Soundtrack

''Five Minutes To Live''
Written and sung by Johnny Cash
Solo Guitar by Merle Travis

Remake

A proposed remake of the film to be directed by

Jan de Bont Jan de Bont (; born 22 October 1943) is a Dutch cinematographer, director and film producer. He is best known for directing the films ''Speed'' (1994) and ''Twister'' (1996). As a director of photography, de Bont also worked on numerous blockbus ...

was announced in 2012.

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Five Minutes To Live 1961 films 1960s crime thriller films 1961 independent films American crime thriller films American black-and-white films American independent films Films about kidnapping Home invasions in film American neo-noir films Articles containing video clips 1960s English-language films 1960s American films