Truly Dreadful Film

good back-story, and good acting

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Obscure British Crime Film Directed by Blacklisted Edward Dmytryk, as He Exiled Across the Pond. The Superb Acting by All Four Leads Coupled with a Dry, British Upper Lip Script and Bare Bones Production make this a Hidden Gem.Owing Much to Hitchcock and Film-Noir it isn't as Good as the Best of Either Hitch or Noir. The Movie is Entertaining and is One of those Stories that is So Popular in Detective Fiction, The Perfect Murder.Suspenseful Cat and Mouse, or in this case Cat and Dog, Film that is Well Crafted All Around with some Detail and a Gruesome Underbelly. It is Witty, Diabolical, and yet has a Calmness Under Stress and that British Way of being Respectful while the World Shrinks and Crumbles all Around.Overall American Audiences used to More Extremism and Expressionism in Their Crime and Noir Films Might Find this a bit too Calculating and Slow, but that is Part of its Offbeat Charm and is as Good as Any from 1940's and 50's British Crime Cinema.

Successful psychiatrist Robert Newton (Clive) is fed up of his wife Sally Gray (Storm) and her philandering ways. He's got business to attend to and it involves her latest lover Phil Brown (Bill). Newton calmly says to Brown - "Have you ever heard of the straw that broke the camel's back? Well,......it's you" - before putting his pre-meditated plan into action. Superintendent Naunton Wayne (Finsbury) turns up about halfway through the film to try and figure things out.The film is a battle of wits between everyone involved and it makes for entertaining viewing. The film grips you from the start and doesn't let go. Robert Newton starts off as completely likable and delivers some great dialogue in his calm and controlled manner. I totally sympathized with him but I'm not sure I was meant to. He is that appealing. I did gradually swing round to Phil Brown's side, though, after all, Newton is crackers! Great scenes, great locations, great acting and a clever dog. There are unexpected plot twists but the ending is slightly ambiguous. I went for the interpretation that sees Sally Gray stay in character, ie, a tart.

A minor cast has probably stopped many people sitting down to watch this 1949 thriller....Well it shouldn't ... this is one of the classic thrillers of all time. Like most noir films, the story is simple yet complex, and the actors build the tension as the dialogue crackles with that pent up passion the British nurtured under Victoria and perfected with the stiff upper lip. Robert Newton does his role almost as his personal raison d'etre. Without his brilliance this may have been a "B" movie. This is a "A" film because it achieves everything it sets out to do.Murder is best served cold. You will have to find out for yourself whether this one is served with ice...

Robert Newton is a Doctor and a gentleman. But even he can be pushed too far from his manipulative cheating wife, Storm. Sally Gray gives a devastatingly perfect performance as Storm. Her callow suitor-du-jour, an American sailor named Bill, doesn't have the faintest idea of the peril he's in for when he dates her. Newton's character has nothing in particular against Bill. In fact, he rather likes him. He just happens to be the straw that broke the camel's back.It's all played out in a single hidden room that no one knows Newton owns, and the psychological effects the situation has on its three principal is explored to its utmost. If you enjoy film noir, and taut character studies, this is the movie for you. Don't miss the dark-humoured twist ending!