“Can’t have him coming around again, can we?”

Bookies, eh? Sub-human scum. Ripe for a kicking, and no-one will care. Not even the police.

If that’s your view, then you’ve come to the right place. Because it’s also the view of Tony (Derren Nesbitt) and to a lesser extent Frank (Keith Faulkner), his partner-in-crime. The pair are about to embark on a mugging, their target the seemingly quite sweet-natured turf accountant Joe (Harry Locke).

Will things go well? What do you think. I certainly wouldn’t put any money on it (Ithankyew).

Joe has the bag containing his nights takings at the dog track handcuffed to his wrist, and as he leaves the stadium, we see he’s neglected to pick up the key.

(Let us not dwell too much on what the point of handcuffing the bag to himself would be, if any mugger could easily find the key on his person)

Tony wastes no time in attacking the luckless Joe, and the pair bundle the unconscious man into the back of his own car. And so begins a remarkable exercise in ramping up tension. As what appeared to be a simple robbery escalates into a paranoid journey around the seedier parts of early 1960s London.

First they need to get the bag off their victim’s wrist, which necessitates a trip to a nearby builders’ yard for a chisel. Then they need a knife to slice open the bag containing the money – and head back to Frank’s home, where his feisty wife Jean (Carol White) is less-than pleased to find out what they’ve been up to.

Every time they try to dump Joe, or the car, or Joe and the car, fate intervenes and they end up back where they started. In the meantime, it is becoming clear that Tony’s repeated attacks on their luckless victim may well have tipped their misdemeanour into much more serious territory.

The Man In The Back Seat is about as high-concept as a 1960s b-movie gets. And if you’re wondering why what sounds like a thriller, even a remarkably beautifully made one, deserves a place on a horror website, well, you’re in for a delicious shock when things take a turn in the final act. A black-and-white Weekend At Bernie’sthis definitely is not.

But even before the shenanigans which have given this short (one hour!) low-budget offering its now-legendary status (in these circles, at least), there’s much to enjoy.

Tony and Frank’s interplay is beautifully done, Tony not the one-dimensional thug he could easily have been (“You think the police are bothered about a bookie?”) and Frank’s inability to take charge of his own life leading to his own downfall (he’s bullied by both his best friend and his wife – as Jean tells him “It’s always ‘like Tony says’! Why didn’t you marry him instead of me?”). Meanwhile we’re treated to a wonderful view of early 60s London life as they go on their less-than-merry way, from helpful AA men to old-school beat coppers. With a side helping of late-night petrol pump attendants in beautifully clean uniforms and chatty young women in coffee shops.

Yes, you should seek out The Man In The Back Seat immediately. You’ll enjoy it. I’d put money on it.