The Man in the Back Seat

Tony and Frank hatch a plan to rob bookmaker Joe Carter as he leaves the local dog track. Tony's cold ruthlessness clashes with Frank's more pliable nature, but both agree on the score. They decide to ambush Carter and take the takings.

They attack Joe Carter brutally and discover the cash is tied to his wrist by a case. They bundle him unconscious into the back seat of his car and drive around as they search for a way to release the case. Their attempt to improvise a quick getaway only deepens their trouble.

With no obvious solution, they end up at Frank's flat, where Frank's wife Jean recoils from the plan. Jean's horror underscores the domestic risk of their criminal enterprise. The tension between their crime and ordinary life grows.

After another brutal beating, Tony frees the case from Joe's custody. They agree that merely holding onto the cash isn't enough and that Carter must be disposed of to avoid a trail. The mood tightens as they realize the logistics of a clean exit.

They decide to get rid of Joe by dousing him with alcohol and dumping him near the local hospital. The plan seems straightforward, but the severity of their crime makes the disposal feel uncertain. They hope a passer-by will misinterpret the scene as an accidental fall.

Frank realises Tony has left fingerprints on the whisky bottle, drawing attention back to them. The discovery forces them to revisit the crime scene to recover the evidence. The tension between carelessness and necessity drives their next move.

They return to Tony's flat to retrieve the bottle and decide what to do next. They then take Joe back to the flat and contact a former male nurse for an evaluation. The nurse hints that Joe is dying, heightening the stakes.

A former male nurse examines Joe and declares that he is dying. The grim prognosis reinforces the sense that there is little left to salvage. The criminals' plan to stay ahead of the consequences becomes increasingly fragile.

As a last resort, they dump Carter's body outside the dog track where the robbery happened. They hope this will sever any obvious link to them. The act underscores the men’s drift toward complete desperation.

Tony tricks Frank into reversing the car over Carter's still-living body, aiming to pin the death on Frank and absolve himself. The act marks a brutal betrayal in their already fragile alliance. They drive away to continue their flight, convinced they are now safe.

They head into the night, driving through the darkness toward Birmingham. The pursuit of escape feels fragile as they press on in silence. The trip marks a shift from immediate crime to long, uncertain flight.

Frank becomes convinced they are being followed and glances in the rear-view mirror at Carter's ghostly, reproachful face. The eerie vision intensifies his panic and accelerates their decline. The boundary between reality and guilt blurs as fear takes over.

In a panic, Frank drives off the road through a barrier and a viaduct. Tony dies instantly in the crash, while Frank, badly hurt, is pulled from the wreck by a passing police patrol. The car explodes as Frank lies dying, and the case closes on a grim, inevitable ending.