Likeable, Francis Durbridge murder mystery in which decent Dr Latimer (John Mills) is implicated in a woman's murder when his truthful account of events is contradicted by all the friends and colleagues who could confirm his story. Fortunately, the police believe him, and the real culprits are caught. All well and good. It's not until you've had a moment to think about it afterwards that you realise it doesn't make a lot of sense.
With hindsight, we know that a group of international criminals need to intercept and bump off a German woman who is working for Interpol. They could just kill her, and dump her body somewhere - job done. But they decide instead to create this convoluted scheme which puts the good doctor in the frame, and it's a scheme that relies on rather a lot of things going their way. They have to convincingly impersonate Latimer's friend, Charles, in a series of phone calls, requesting a favour from him, then hope that he will agree to that favour, then hope that he has plans that evening so that they can plant the body in his flat when he is not there (and get in without a key) and so on, and so on. Meanwhile, Latimer's colleague, Dr Kimber (Mervyn Johns) refers a patient, Mrs Ambler? to him for a second opinion, and she tells Latimer an invented story of nightmares. She later denies that she told this story, and also denies that she even knows Dr Kimber, and why any of this happens is beyond me. Circumstances are conspiring ever more badly for poor old Latimer, with the dogged copper (Roland Culver) constantly dropping by with awkward questions, and mounting evidence. But guess what? The police always knew he was innocent, have been keeping tabs on the villains for ages, and are using him to lure them into a trap. In the final ten minutes, any residual logic disappears when the prime villain, Derek Farr - whose criminal activity largely relies on his true identity being a secret - reveals himself to Latimer for no reason that bears explanation, beats him in a punch up, and escapes on a plane to Berlin, where the police are lying in wait, and arrest him mid-air. Why on earth they don't just pick him up at the airport before the flight, or why they need Latimer's help when they clearly already know the villain's travel plans is another mystery. In the final moments, Latimer receives a call at the airport from the real Charles (who has no way of knowing that he will be there) to add a 'comedic' touch that belongs in a different film. Along the way there are diversions with matchbooks, and candlesticks, with tape recordings of people having fun at a party, with Wilfred Hyde White acting suspiciously in a golf club car park to establish himself as the Red Herring, and dialogue that is wonderfully dated - Latimer, about to be arrested for murder, says that he is 'in a pretty old jam.' It's all good fun, keeps moving along quickly, and with a fair amount of artistic licence granted, won't disappoint you.
With hindsight, we know that a group of international criminals need to intercept and bump off a German woman who is working for Interpol. They could just kill her, and dump her body somewhere - job done. But they decide instead to create this convoluted scheme which puts the good doctor in the frame, and it's a scheme that relies on rather a lot of things going their way. They have to convincingly impersonate Latimer's friend, Charles, in a series of phone calls, requesting a favour from him, then hope that he will agree to that favour, then hope that he has plans that evening so that they can plant the body in his flat when he is not there (and get in without a key) and so on, and so on. Meanwhile, Latimer's colleague, Dr Kimber (Mervyn Johns) refers a patient, Mrs Ambler? to him for a second opinion, and she tells Latimer an invented story of nightmares. She later denies that she told this story, and also denies that she even knows Dr Kimber, and why any of this happens is beyond me. Circumstances are conspiring ever more badly for poor old Latimer, with the dogged copper (Roland Culver) constantly dropping by with awkward questions, and mounting evidence. But guess what? The police always knew he was innocent, have been keeping tabs on the villains for ages, and are using him to lure them into a trap. In the final ten minutes, any residual logic disappears when the prime villain, Derek Farr - whose criminal activity largely relies on his true identity being a secret - reveals himself to Latimer for no reason that bears explanation, beats him in a punch up, and escapes on a plane to Berlin, where the police are lying in wait, and arrest him mid-air. Why on earth they don't just pick him up at the airport before the flight, or why they need Latimer's help when they clearly already know the villain's travel plans is another mystery. In the final moments, Latimer receives a call at the airport from the real Charles (who has no way of knowing that he will be there) to add a 'comedic' touch that belongs in a different film. Along the way there are diversions with matchbooks, and candlesticks, with tape recordings of people having fun at a party, with Wilfred Hyde White acting suspiciously in a golf club car park to establish himself as the Red Herring, and dialogue that is wonderfully dated - Latimer, about to be arrested for murder, says that he is 'in a pretty old jam.' It's all good fun, keeps moving along quickly, and with a fair amount of artistic licence granted, won't disappoint you.