After seeing his take on an Ealing-Style Comedy with Children Galore (1955-also reviewed),I was intrigued to find on Talking Pictures free online catch-up service that they had uploaded a title that film maker Terence Fisher had worked on,but did not direct, which led to a meet in the dark.
View on the film:
Appearing to have never had the 10 minutes cut by the studio for a 1948 re-release inserted back in, the results of this move, that that the screenplay by Basil Bartlett, Anatole de Grunwald. Victor MacLure,Miles Malleson and James Seymour adapts Lucy Malleson's novel (written under an alias) with a number of rough edge jolts, as the tense psychological mistrust Verity has towards Heritage folds with a (cut) unexplained ease, and the arrival of Euro Spy thrills from Fifth-Columnists and Nazis attempting to steal British war plans, coming rather abruptly, after the build-up to the doubt over who side Heritage is on.
Working as a supervising editor with Winifred Cooper, directing auteur Terence Fisher makes his eye for Horror visible in a stand-out Old Dark House set-piece, filled with wipes and hard edits, landing on close-ups of Verity finding a body.
Later joined by the charming Edward Rigby as a charming out of the loop Mansel, in a similar role to what he did in Alfred Hitchcock's outstanding Young and Innocent (1937-also reviewed), James Mason gives a terrific turn as Heritage, whose ambiguity is pushed right to the front by Mason, in him expressing Heritage choosing his words carefully when round Verity.
Despite the obstacle of the studio chopping 10 minutes of the movie out, director Karel Lamac & Peeping Tom (1960-also reviewed) cinematographer Otto Heller impressively staged ultra-stylized set-pieces that still shine, from igniting a Thriller mood with long, elegant arc and panning shots listening in on Verity and Heritage's exchanges, to taking an unexpected turn to Horror, with gliding shots following Verity into an old dark house, and a macabre close-up on a burning scarecrow, as Heritage and Verity meet at night.
View on the film:
Appearing to have never had the 10 minutes cut by the studio for a 1948 re-release inserted back in, the results of this move, that that the screenplay by Basil Bartlett, Anatole de Grunwald. Victor MacLure,Miles Malleson and James Seymour adapts Lucy Malleson's novel (written under an alias) with a number of rough edge jolts, as the tense psychological mistrust Verity has towards Heritage folds with a (cut) unexplained ease, and the arrival of Euro Spy thrills from Fifth-Columnists and Nazis attempting to steal British war plans, coming rather abruptly, after the build-up to the doubt over who side Heritage is on.
Working as a supervising editor with Winifred Cooper, directing auteur Terence Fisher makes his eye for Horror visible in a stand-out Old Dark House set-piece, filled with wipes and hard edits, landing on close-ups of Verity finding a body.
Later joined by the charming Edward Rigby as a charming out of the loop Mansel, in a similar role to what he did in Alfred Hitchcock's outstanding Young and Innocent (1937-also reviewed), James Mason gives a terrific turn as Heritage, whose ambiguity is pushed right to the front by Mason, in him expressing Heritage choosing his words carefully when round Verity.
Despite the obstacle of the studio chopping 10 minutes of the movie out, director Karel Lamac & Peeping Tom (1960-also reviewed) cinematographer Otto Heller impressively staged ultra-stylized set-pieces that still shine, from igniting a Thriller mood with long, elegant arc and panning shots listening in on Verity and Heritage's exchanges, to taking an unexpected turn to Horror, with gliding shots following Verity into an old dark house, and a macabre close-up on a burning scarecrow, as Heritage and Verity meet at night.