Fear is the Key
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fear is the Key is a 1961 thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and a 1972 British film based upon it.
[edit] Novel
John Talbot, a tacit man with a violent streak, is a wanted man. Even as he stands trial in Florida for his past offenses, he abducts the daughter of a multi-millionaire who happened to be in the court at gunpoint, and from there the plot moves at a stupendous pace,with rapid twists and turns at each corner.Throughout the book,one can find the self-depracating, sardonic,ironic humour that has come to characterise Alistair MacLean's style, something that manages to elicit a wry smile even at the most exciting junctures of the plot.From the steel jungle of a great oil-rig in the Gulf of Mexico to the sea bed below it, the pace never slackens, and veteran fans of the author would be delighted to find him at his best, right from the sudden disaster in the prologue to the final reckoning , one that lends almost a poetic touch to this masterpiece.
[edit] Film
The lead character, John Talbot, was played by Barry Newman. It features a soundtrack by Roy Budd.