New York City. Fourth of July. Alone and a stranger to the big city one youthful sailor on 24 hour shore leave; hopes to find romance. Instead he finds a prostitute and loses his virginity in the back of a truck. Beautifully shot by Rick Putnam, it begins in a rough romantic style with some floating shots of sailors walking the street; and as the night progresses the film becomes much harder and disillusioned as the sailor chalks up some experiences he would just as soon forget. The scene in the Peep Show where he drops his last quarter sums up the dark humour and pathos with which this film is imbued Crackerjack has a sensitivity and eye for detail that makes it "tender, brutal and some­times grotesque". A must-see film (BH)