kidboots I like the phrase "British post war suburban paranoia" that one of the reviewers used. It describes so well the kind of films John Mills excelled in ("The October Man" (1947), "The Long Memory" (1952)) in between "big" pictures ("Scott of the Antartic" (1948) and "War and Peace" (1956)).This distinctly "Eric Ambler" style plot had John Mills playing Dr. Howard Latimer, who promises his friend, Charles, (unseen) to meet a visiting German actress, Frieda Veldon (Lisa Daniely) at the airport. A creepy "reporter" Jeffrey Windsor (Lionel Jeffries) is in his consulting rooms at the time and offers to give him a lift but while he is tracking the actress down Windsor informs him she is already in the car waiting!!! (something fishy is going on!!!). Howard is dropped off for his date and thinks no more about it.The next night he finds her body when he arrives home from work, further more, he finds his friend Charles could not have rung him as he is still in New York and Windsor doesn't seem to exist. Earlier on a patient, Mrs Ambler(Rene Ray) who has been referred to him by Doctor George Kimber (Mervyn Johns) tells of her recurring dream about finding a dead body and a brass candlestick with a square base. It is a nightmare that is coming true for Howard but of course when Detective Inspector Dane (Roland Culver) interviews her, she denies all knowledge of the conversation - the candlestick is later found in the boot of Howard's Daimler.When Howard is lying low, Robert Brady (Wilfred Hyde-White) visits him. He calls himself a "friend" - he has a photo of Windsor that he wants to trade for a box of matches Frieda gave Howard at the airport. Howard returns to the flat, Charles rings and while Howard is on the phone an unknown assailant knocks him out and steals the matches!!! Who can he trust - who hasn't something to hide!!!This is a top thriller - not quite in the same class as "The October Man", but with John Mills doing what he does best - playing ordinary men caught up in impossible mysteries!!!Highly Recommended.

steve-3628 This interesting - if flawed - Hitchcock wannabe, unexpectedly delights in the period snapshots of London circa 1957/8. The embankment / London Zoo / 'London Airport', together with lots of cigarettes and social etiquette. Mills is accomplished in the role of the consultant/surgeon thrown into a game of 'cat and mouse', even if the dénouement is a little corny.In addition to the cameos by Lionel Jeffries, and a relatively young Wilfred Hyde-White, Roland Culver cuts a familiar, yet enigmatic, figure as the all-seeing, all-knowing Inspector - far better than many similar roles in some Hitchcock thrillers.

sol- An early film from Gerald Thomas, who would later go on to dedicate his career to the Carry On comedy series, this is a very different sort of film. It is a mystery film, and in many ways archetypal, with a web of different events that an innocent man has to work his way through. It is not a brilliant film, especially in comparison to the very best of its genre that was being churned out at the time, but it does the job fairly well, with an intriguing enough plot and good application of music. It is complicated beyond credibility, and the film does not have the power to suspend one's disbelief, however a competent cast working with a competent director find a way to make it work as a satisfying watch.

bob the moo Dr Howard Latimer is late to an operatic performance with his girlfriend because he has to collect Frieda Veldon, a German actress from the airport and drop her off at his hotel. Returning to his home later that night, Latimer is horrified to find her dead on his living room floor and duly reports it to Scotland Yard. Assigned to the case is one Detective Inspector Dane, who starts to pick holes in Latimer's story with friends and patients denying every word of Latimer's alibis and statements. Starting to doubt his own sanity, Latimer does a bunk to try and work out who is setting him up. It is at this point he meets Robert Brady, a mysterious man who offers him a photograph that can help corroborate Latimer's story – but at what price, and what are the wider issues around Veldon's murder.One of the other reviewers on this site has incorrectly assumed that, with so few votes and comments, that this film is 'very unknown', but I'd just like to correct him and say it is forgotten rather than unknown. Certainly I was aware of the title in John Mills' body of work and, given the chance to see it on television recently, took it. The film is basically one of those films where we have an innocent man accused and framed for a murder, only to go on the run and try to clear himself before it is too late. This film really overdoes the degree of the setup though and, even when it is resolved, bits of it don't make sense and the film seems to have been hoping that it could just move fast enough to stop the audience picking holes in the plot – but nothing moves that quick! The series of jumps and turns it makes means that it is too hard to get into, with no nice plot development or focal point (other than Latimer) meaning that it never really engaged me.Certainly comparisons with North By Northwest only apply as far as the very vague subject matter goes, otherwise there is no comparison – NBNW is exciting, well written and engaging, whereas this film is rather uninteresting, convoluted and hard to really ever care about. Latimer drifts around aimlessly and never feels like a man pursued by anything, while the characters just pile up on one another with none really making a mark. Mills tries hard but he is too stiff to get the audience behind him, certainly he has none of Grant's 'everyman' qualities. His performance really doesn't suit the film and he is a part of it not really engaging. Culver is OK but far too calm – a bit more playful would have been better. It is for this reason that Jeffries and Hyde-White both come up as scene stealers, they at least have a bit of colour to their cheeks and play up their characters well. Despite their work, most of the cast are pretty flat and blame can be left at the door of the script which really doesn't help them at all.Overall this is a fairly average film that has a standard premise that has been done much better in many other films. Not a terrible film by any means but just one that doesn't do anything of any real merit or effort, producing a rather flat film with a listless and uninspiring plot and only one or two minor performances of any note.