Five Minutes to Live

1961

Crime / Drama / Music / Thriller

5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 31% · 5 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 31% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 1175 1.2K

banker small town husband wife relationship hostage hostage-taking killer

Plot summary

A guitar playing killer terrorizes a housewife while his partner robs the bank where her husband works.

Director

Bill Karn Photo
Bill Karn

Top cast

Norma Varden Photo
Norma Varden as Priscilla Auerbach
Ron Howard Photo
Ron Howard as Bobby Wilson
Max Manning Photo
Max Manning as Pete
Vic Tayback Photo
Vic Tayback as Fred Dorella
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
691.15 MB
1280*690
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 1
1.25 GB
1920*1036
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Camera-Obscura

Johnny Cash as a disturbed villain..

This strange little B-movie was originally titled FIVE MINUTES TO LIVE, but was re-released in 1966 as DOOR-TO-DOOR MANIAC because Cash' 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 president's wife hostage. But what they don't know is that the bank president is planning to run off to Las Vegas with his mistress and couldn't care less about his wife.The 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 '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. It'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 he'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 character's first name is Johnny. On top of that, he always carries his guitar with him and belts out the song "Five Minutes to live" a couple of times. Obviously the makers wanted to cash in on Cash's presence by making his character even more Cash than he already is... sorry for the bad wordplay.The transfer to the DVD didn't help much, but was probably the best copy they could find. It'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, let'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 don'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, it's probably of little interest.Camera Obscura --- 6/10
Reviewed by Handlinghandel 6 / 10

Nasty Thriller With -- Wait: Vic Tayback, Ron Howard, and Johnny Cash?

This is a tough little movie. It would work quite well without names. But let's face it: The leading man is the draw. Johnny Cash, in 1961, looking a little like Elvis, as a ruthless killer. A killer, to be sure, who sings the title song and whom we see playing guitar.Donald Woods is a dead ringer for the Darren character in "Bewitched." He is a complacent suburban dad. Cay Forrester is just right as his upwardly mobile blonde wife. Ron Howard is very cute as their son. (And Pamela Mason turns in a good acting job but is a little implausible as Woods's mistress.) Before he got the job cooking for Alice, Tayback was apparently a crook. A pretty mean one, at that. And here, he has hired Cash to hold banker Woods's wife hostage. (Before he takes the job, Cash has to dump his girlfriend, the greedy Doris, AKA Dory.) For an obviously low budget movie, this does its job neatly. And it holds up very well 45 years after it was released.
Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment