Tense little thriller from Hammer and writer Jimmy Sangster - an early version of his psycho thrillers which he later made to such great effect in the 60s. Peter van Eyck is very good in the lead, playing a smooth-talking man who kills his wife and sets it up as suicide (a terrific opening sequence) - but the woman's daughter (Mandy Miller) is convinced it was murder. Miller is dreadful - although something of a name at the time (due to her appearance in 1952's Mandy) here she's incredibly annoying; you keep hoping van Eyck will bump her off, and get frustrated when he doesn't. Occasionally it feels padded too (I've seen the 90 minute British version - apparently there's a shorter US version which might work better). Still, an enjoyable thriller.
No comments:
Post a Comment