Brass Monkey is an unusual hybrid of murder mystery and music hall/radio entertainment that does not really work at all, but still has a pleasant charm (if only because it is a film so much of its time and so a snapshot of bygone theatrical entertainments). The plot is ostensibly about the theft and smuggling of a sacred brass monkey, an action that sees various characters - Herbert Lom's gangster, his boss and antique collector, Carole Landis, and the scholarly Ernest Thesiger - seeking it out, and drawing in the innocent compare and radio host, Carroll Levis, who finds himself accused of murders that have occurred in the pursuit of said brass article. In terms of being a B-movie crime caper, Brass Monkey works well enough, but throughout the film (and in a substantial section of the final act) various entertainers appear and perform full-length numbers (including turns from Terry-Thomas). These acts are so gratuitous that at one stage Lom's heavy, searching for the artefact in the theatre that is broadcasting Levis' show, sits down and becomes a passive audience member for quite some time, where he enjoys acts such as a tune played on the saw. Needless to say, this does slow proceedings down and unless you have a fervent penchant for saw players, the acts will try the patience of many a viewer (indeed, throughout the finale Levis keeps nipping in and out from his interview with the police to announce new acts!). However, all is ultimately resolved and the film does end with an interesting twist regarding the identity of the killer.
Review of Brass Monkey
