Fear Is the Key is a 1972 British action thriller film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Barry Newman and Suzy Kendall.

Some time later, Talbot appears in a small town in Louisiana, where he starts a fight with some local police.

He is arrested and faces trial, where it is revealed he is wanted for killing a policeman and robbing a bank.

Talbot escapes from the courtroom, shooting another policeman and kidnapping a woman, Sarah Ruthven.

Late at night, Talbot sneaks out of the house and travels to an oil platform to search for something.

Talbot then sneaks into Sarah's room and makes a confession: all the events up until the present time are part of a scheme.

Larry begins to suspect Talbot and pulls a gun on him but falls off the platform and dies.

They hired a plane from a small airline, Talbot's, but it was shot down by people who knew what was on the flight.

"[7] In July 1972 Paramount Pictures announced they acquired rights to distribute in the Western hemisphere.

[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The latest in the prolific series of Alistair MacLean screen adaptations proves to be a brisk and cleverly plotted thriller with enough narrative surprises to compel interest right to the cliffhanging finish, and to justify the makers' potentially reckless decision to place their most effective set-piece – a 20-minute allstops-out car chase – right at the beginning of the film.

Script and characterisation are fairly rudimentary, but the pressure-cooker intensity of Barry Newman's acting makes him the perfect protagonist in a revenge story, while for director Michael Tuchner the film is a distinct advance on his earlier thriller, Villain.

"[9] The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Satisfying action thriller ... An excitingly staged car chase gets things off to a cracking start and Newman makes a convincingly hyped-up hero.