Follow up to The Seventh Veil from Sydney Box, Ann Todd and Compton Bennett but, crucially, no James Mason.
It's not a bad story, and has a strong gimmick - a hangman is going to hang a man for the hangman's own murder. Not enough is used for the hangman's gimmick and the film feels emotionally cheating by using two suicides.
There's some convoluted stuff whereby Portman is a barber and a hangman and pretends to inherit some barges... it's like one too many things. Ann Todd is alright, Portman is excellent.
Maxwell Reed has a smouldering look that no doubt looked good on stills, and there were a few "new Stewart Grangers" around this time, but he's awful. He might've been alright if he didn't speak but he attempts a Dutch accent and it's like he had a stroke.
The barge setting is different, the support cast features some decent names like Bill Owen and there's decent atmosphere. It was cut about by censors so it's not all the filmmakers' fault.
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