In London, three otherwise law-abiding good men and their unscrupulous leader are about to commit a serious crime, but for different reasons.
Three good men - a broken boxer, an American veteran trying to win back his mother-dominated wife, and an Air Force Sergeant married to a faithless actress - are corrupted by Miles "Rave" Ravenscourt (Laurence Harvey), an amoral "gentleman". Because they need money, they let Miles lure them into his scheme to rob a postal van with a large cash cargo.—Mike Rogers <[email protected]>
The Good Die Young is a psychological crime yarn, exploring the motivations of four participants in an armed robbery. American ex-GI Joe (Richard Basehart) hopes to use his share of the haul to bring his British wife to the US. Professional boxer Mike (Stanley Baker) finds himself unable to work in his chosen profession when his hand is broken, while his life savings are stolen by his disreputable brother-in-law. American airman Eddie (John Ireland) has deserted upon discovering that his wife (Gloria Grahame) is unfaithful. And shabby aristocrat Rave (Laurence Harvey) needs to pay off his wife's gambling debts. In other words, all four amateur criminals would have been better off staying single, which may or may not be the subliminal message of The Good Die Young.
With none knowing the others beyond the latter two having been enlisted US Army buddies during the war, Miles Ravenscourt, Mike Morgan, Joe Halsey and Eddie Blaine - a "gentleman", a just retired boxer, a New York office clerk just fired due to his priority of dealing with an issue with his British wife Mary Halsey, and a US Army officer, respectively - are similar in many ways despite their outward differences: each is in his early thirties, is married (only two relatively happily in love with his wife), has never been in trouble with the law, and arguably most importantly is immediately in need of money due to the unfortunate nature of recent circumstances, the need for that money to get back to a point in their lives where they were headed before those unfortunate incidents. While the latter three are proverbially good men, Rave, who has lived off his wife Eve Ravenscourt, and whose father, Sir Francis Ravenscourt, in detesting what Rave has become, will not give him his share of inheritance, is more desperate for that money. Their lives are forever changed in a chance meeting at a London pub and becoming drinking buddies in the process. Rave, in not being up front about his money issues, feigning his suggestion all in an act of friendship, is able to convince the others, with a little smooth talk, to rob a £90,000 shipment passing through a local post office, they agreeing on the caveat of no violence. Rave, however, may have other ideas than what he has proposed to his new "friends".—Huggo
Four law-abiding men, war heroes no less, are drawn by circumstance into committing an armed robbery. There's Mike, the boxer who just fought his last fight. Joe, desperately trying to move his English wife to the US and away from the clutches of her clinging mother. Eddie, the US Air Force Sergeant with a wandering wife. Last but certainly not least there's Rave, the "gentleman" who squanders any money he gets and has been cut off by his father.—grantss
