A murder
mystery from Hammer before their glory days of horror. Still, some of the
names that made Hammer renown are involved with this film. Michael Carreras
is the producer, Terence Fisher directs and Jimmy Sangster is the assistant
director. Fisher had already directed a few crime films for Hammer - Man
Bait, Wings of Danger, Stolen Face and Mantrap. All B pictures. He had a
reputation of being able to knock off a quality B film quickly. In the same
year as this film though he also directed two of Hammer's first sci-fi films,
Four Sided Triangle and Spaceways - setting him up perhaps to get the assignment
to direct The Curse of Frankenstein in four-years.
Like many of these Hammer films in the 1950s
they hired a well-known Hollywood actor to play an American. For distribution
purposes in America. In this case the American is played by Tom Conway who
was English by way of Russia. But his films as The Falcon and many other
B pictures made his a familiar name. Here he is a detective working for the
wealthy Mr. Mercedes, a name that rings of riches. Mercedes is played by
the portly Eric Pohlmann who was generally cast as a well spoken cultured
villain. He was also the voice of Blofelt in From Russia with Love and Thunderball.
Mercedes has loaned jewelry to a fashion house to wear when they do shows.
The jewels are stolen and Conway, named Tom Conway in the film, investigates
along with Scotland Yard (Richard Wattis).
Setting much of the film in a fashion house
full of lovely models gives the film the opportunity to show these models
in various stages of dress. Quite naughty in 1953. And then two women are
murdered wearing a blood orange dress. Neither of the killings are shown,
perhaps to get around the British censors. Conway plays his role very much
as he did the Falcon, breezy, debonair, flirty, but not as tough as he loses
every fight he is in. At fifty, Conway shows it around his circled weary
eyes. It is a decent enough crime
film with a twist or two. Also, In the cast are the attractive blonde, Naomi
Chance, married to Guy Hamilton at this time, Mila Parély as the designer,
this French actress had been in Beauty and the Beast and Rules of the Game
and an actor who was to become a favorite Hammer actor, Michael Ripper, as
Eddie, the small time crook. To my surprise this somewhat obscure film has
gotten the blue-ray treatment with two commentaries. It would be great if
more of these Hammer crime films got the same.
