Harry Martineau (Stanley Baker: The Cruel Sea, Zulu, Accident) is a tough, dedicated police inspector on the trail of Don Starling (John Crawford: The Enforcer), who escaped from prison after serving 5 years of his 14-year prison sentence for a jewelry robbery, and killed a warden in the process. Inspector Martineau was the arresting officer and knew the troubled Starling from his youth. Hesuspects Starling to be going to Manchester to recover the stolen jewels he hid away before being convicted.

Indeed, Starling returns undetected to Manchester and goes to see Laurie Lovett (Charles Morgan: Sergeant Cork), who was in on the jewelry heist. Grateful Starling never turned him in Lovett finds him a place to hide at night. He reveals his plans to get a phony passport and flee the country, but not until he gets all the money he needs to execute his escape. He plans the next day to rob the bookmaker Gus Hawkins (Donald Pleasence: The Caretaker, Halloween) of his gambling take with the help of Lovett's gang.

The robbery doesn't go as planned and the gang is forced to disappear in different directions. Starling contacts Gus' wife Chloe (Billie Whitelaw: The Omen, Frenzy) with whom he previously had an affair. She hides him in the attic located in the bedroom but when Gus takes a peek thinking he heard a noise, he is hit on the head and hospitalized with a concussion as the police take note that Starling has been spotted for the first time in Manchester and thereby connect him to the robbery.

As inspector Martineau tracks him down, and the gang of men he knows must be working with him, suspense builds at every turn. The gang falls one by one, until only the killer is left.

The 1960 Hell is a City is an underrated Birish noir co-produced by Hammer Studios and directed by Val Guest, whose track record includes The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass 2 and The Day the Earth Caught Fire.

Hell is a City will be released on UK DVD on 8th October 2012 by Studiocanal at the RRP of XXXXX.

The only listed extra features is an alternative ending.