Go to Blazes (1962) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

Three incompetent criminals repeatedly turn firefighting disguises, accidental fires, and improvised escapes into escalating comic disasters.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Traffic-Proof Escape

Harry, Bernard, and Alfie begin with a jewellery robbery but are caught when a fire engine blocks their getaway. After prison, they decide that a fire engine could provide a better criminal escape vehicle.

Key Events

• Jewellery Window Smash — Harry throws a brick through the window and grabs the jewels. Characters: Harry Location: A London jeweller's window
• Citroen Escape — Harry joins Bernard and Alfie in the Citroen as police pursue them. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: London streets
• Traffic Blocked Chase — A passing fire engine blocks the criminals and enables their capture. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A London junction
• Prison Sentence — The trio are caught and sent to Wormwood Scrubs. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: Wormwood Scrubs
• Fire Engine Idea — They decide a fire engine is less likely than a car to be delayed by traffic. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: After their release

Borrowed Firepower

The trio cannot afford a new fire engine, so they steal a maintained 1930s model and conceal the theft by burning the remote station. They establish a shed base, choose another target, and acquire firemen's uniforms.

Key Events

• Engine Salesroom Visit — The salesman praises new engines, but the trio cannot afford one costing five thousand pounds. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie, Salesman Location: A fire-engine salesroom
• Old Engine Theft — They steal a maintained 1930s engine and replace it with their scrap vehicle. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A remote fire station
• Fire Station Blaze — They burn down the station to conceal the stolen engine and leave the scrap vehicle in the debris. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: The remote fire station
• Robbery Base Prepared — They hide the engine, select a jeweller near Berkeley Square, and obtain uniforms. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A large shed in Smithfield

Disguises Under Pressure

The first robbery fails, while Harry's escape introduces him to Chantal. Bernard and Alfie expose their incompetence when they worsen a flooded basement while pretending to be firefighters.

Key Events

• First Robbery Fails — Their first attempt to rob the jeweller ends in failure and a police pursuit. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A jeweller's shop near Berkeley Square
• Harry Meets Chantal — Harry hides in the dress show, claims a wealthy identity, and arranges dinner with Chantal. Characters: Harry, Chantal Location: A wedding-dress salon
• Flooded Basement Disaster — Mistaken for real firefighters, Bernard and Alfie worsen the flooding by adding water. Characters: Bernard, Alfie Location: A flooded basement flat

Training for the Impossible

The criminals seek technical help from Arson Eddie and recruit Withers, a dismissed fire chief, to train them. Their new plan uses a fire at Chantal's salon to reach the adjacent bank.

Key Events

• Arson Eddie Consulted — The trio seek help from Eddie, who knows how to start fires but not extinguish them. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie, Arson Eddie Location: Arson Eddie's surroundings
• Withers Recruited — They find Withers and hire the dismissed fire chief to train them. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie, Withers Location: Outside a fire station
• Insurance Motive Revealed — Colette reveals financial trouble and insurance worth twenty thousand pounds. Characters: Chantal, Colette Location: The dress salon
• Fire Scheme Set — The criminals plan to use a basement fire at Chantal's salon to reach the adjacent bank. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie, Withers, Arson Eddie Location: The dress salon and nearby bank

The Hose Full of Money

Colette's insurance scheme creates a genuine fire during the bank robbery, allowing the criminals to escape with money hidden in a fire hose. Their getaway is disrupted by a real treehouse fire, where Alfie's hose mistake scatters the stolen notes.

Key Events

• Competing Fires Started — Eddie tries to start a fire, while Colette independently ignites the curtains for her own scheme. Characters: Arson Eddie, Colette, Chantal Location: The dress salon
• Bank Robbery Escape — The thieves escape with banknotes stuffed into a fire hose as the real brigade arrives. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie, Chantal, Colette Location: The bank basement and dress salon
• Treehouse Fire — The escaping criminals stop to fight a real treehouse fire after two girls flag them down. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A burning treehouse
• Money Hose Disaster — Alfie connects the wrong hose and sprays stolen money over the fire scene instead of water. Characters: Bernard, Alfie, Harry Location: The treehouse fire scene
• Black Maria Arrest — The crooks sit in the police van on their way to another prison stint. Characters: Harry, Bernard, Alfie Location: A Black Maria van
• Next Escape Idea — Seeing the Queen's royal limousine, Bernard announces another perfect getaway idea. Characters: Bernard Location: The Black Maria van

Story Breakdown

• Jewellery Crime — The trio begins with a conventional robbery that immediately exposes their vulnerability to traffic and police intervention.
  • Window Smash — Harry uses a brick to break the jeweller's window and seize the jewels.
  • Blocked Getaway — A passing fire engine stops the Citroen and leads to the trio's capture.
• Fire Engine Plan — The criminals reinterpret the traffic problem as a reason to use a fire engine for future escapes.
  • Expensive Models — A salesman demonstrates new engines that are beyond the trio's budget.
  • Stolen Vehicle — They steal a maintained 1930s fire engine and substitute a scrap vehicle.
• Failed Disguises — Their firemen impersonation produces both a failed jewellery robbery and an embarrassing rescue attempt.
  • Salon Encounter — Harry meets Chantal and gains access to a salon next to the intended bank.
  • Flooding Disaster — Bernard and Alfie worsen a flooded basement before fleeing from the real fire brigade.
• Specialist Training — The trio searches for expertise after their incompetence threatens the fire-engine strategy.
  • Arson Advice — Arson Eddie offers knowledge about creating fires but has little knowledge of extinguishing them.
  • Withers Recruited — The dismissed fire chief agrees to train the criminals for a share of the bank proceeds.
• Salon Fire Scheme — The bank plan depends on using a fire in the salon basement as cover and access.
  • Insurance Motive — Colette reveals the salon's financial difficulty and the insured value of its dress collection.
  • Eddie's Alias — Arson Eddie visits the salon as Mr Mountbatten and attempts to start a fire.
• Bank Robbery — The planned diversion becomes a real fire while the criminals remove banknotes through the basement.
  • Curtain Blaze — Colette sets the curtains alight as part of her own plan, creating the needed fire.
  • Hose Escape — The thieves flee with banknotes hidden inside a fire hose as the real brigade arrives.
• Comic Downfall — The criminals' improved training cannot overcome their recurring practical mistakes during the getaway.
  • Treehouse Rescue — They stop to fight a real treehouse fire after two girls ask for help.
  • Money Shower — Alfie attaches the wrong hose and sprays stolen banknotes over the fire scene.
• Prisonbound Finale — The trio returns to police custody, but Bernard immediately begins imagining another escape vehicle.
  • Black Maria — The crooks are carried away in the police van for another prison stint.
  • Royal Limousine — Bernard sees the Queen's limousine and announces a new perfect getaway idea.

Directed by

Michael Truman

Key Cast

• Dave King — Bernard
• Robert Morley — Arson Eddie
• Daniel Massey — Harry
• Dennis Price — Withers
• Coral Browne — Colette