Set in the infamous winter of 1962-63 (with numerous location shots showing just how wintry it was), this instalment in the Edgar Wallace series is one of the very best.
Secretly broke lawyer Alan Phipps (Richard Leech) seems unbothered by having almost been cuckolded by down-on-his-luck John Brodie (a brooding Alex Scott) and, indeed, turns matters round, hiring Brodie to use their past relationship put the wind up wealthy Yvonne Phipps (Maxine Audley).
Naturally, all is not as it seems and this one will keep you guessing right up to the end credits. Especially the scene in the hotel bedroom.....
Splendidly enjoyable way of passing an hour, each and every one of the cast do a tight script credit but it's the underrated Dudley Foster, who doesn't appear until well into the second half of the episode who steals the show with more than a hint of menace behind his urbane demeanour.
The shots of Streatham Ice Rink both at the start and the end of the episode are pure, undiluted early 60s!
If I was to be critical, it owuld be that our crooked lawyer's attempts to hoodwink the local CID when being interviewed at home are just a wee bit too obvious.
4 Reviews
Ricochet
Prismark1016 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is a very noir story but done in a British B movie setting.
Alan Phipps is a solicitor with a wealthy wife, Yvonne. At first he was financially reliant on her. Now he is doing well on his own account.
Just the right time to take revenge on his wife for being unfaithful to him. Phipps also will make sure that her former lover John Brodie will suffer. It helps that Brodie is financially struggling so goes along with Phipps plans.
The opening scenes has Yvonne fearing that she is being stalked. Phipps persuades Brodie to blackmail Yvonne over some incriminating letters he has.
At the same time he gives his wife a gun and some target practice in case someone is really stalking her.
When Yvonne and Brodie do meet, they end up having a tussle and she shoots Brodie dead.
Phipps now has his wife charged with murder, her ex lover dead.
Things seem to be going swimmingly for Phipps until it emerges that Brodie did smell a double cross and he had a partner.
Efficiently done, the wintry snow setting is a bonus. It's a convoluted plot by Phipps but he nearly got away with it. Brodie's partner got a better offer from Yvonne.
Alan Phipps is a solicitor with a wealthy wife, Yvonne. At first he was financially reliant on her. Now he is doing well on his own account.
Just the right time to take revenge on his wife for being unfaithful to him. Phipps also will make sure that her former lover John Brodie will suffer. It helps that Brodie is financially struggling so goes along with Phipps plans.
The opening scenes has Yvonne fearing that she is being stalked. Phipps persuades Brodie to blackmail Yvonne over some incriminating letters he has.
At the same time he gives his wife a gun and some target practice in case someone is really stalking her.
When Yvonne and Brodie do meet, they end up having a tussle and she shoots Brodie dead.
Phipps now has his wife charged with murder, her ex lover dead.
Things seem to be going swimmingly for Phipps until it emerges that Brodie did smell a double cross and he had a partner.
Efficiently done, the wintry snow setting is a bonus. It's a convoluted plot by Phipps but he nearly got away with it. Brodie's partner got a better offer from Yvonne.
Superb crime drama
marksulli-9598517 November 2020
This is one of the very best of the Edgar Wallace Mystery theatre B film series - which means it's very good indeed. The acting style is always very dry and understated, which gives a timeless and very watchable quality. Apparently, Martin Ritt, the American director of the superb The Spy Who Came in from The Cold, told his cast he definitely wanted no over-acting or general luvvying-it-up , and these wonderful B films share that pared-down, realistic but stylish quality.
Maxine Audley is one of the standout actors in the series, along with Bernard Lee and Ray Barrett. If you look up their c v's in reference guides, these British B films are always dissed as "forgettable" by the usual dimwit critics !
Great episode.
Sleepin_Dragon20 March 2023
Solicitor Alan Phipps hatches a plan to deal with his domineering and unfaithful wife Yvonne, as well as her lover John Brodie, his plan however takes an unexpected twist.
This is exactly what I was hoping for in this series, this is a terrific thriller. It all hangs on a fantastic script, the plot is intriguing, smart and tightly written, super suspenseful with plenty of twists and turns.
Several tense, gripping moments, you'll be on the edge of your seat.
Great characters, all are significant, meaningful and superbly acted, the acting is fantastic, credit to Richard Leech, Maxine Audley and Alex Scott.
A terrific performance from Dudley Foster, he's an actor that doesn't seem to have a lot said about him, but every single time he appears, he's excellent. I've seen him play robus, honest characters, here he's fantastic as one that's very menacing.
Great visuals once again, actual British snow, there was a lot of it that winter, and as for Yvonne's fabulous Citroen, it really is slick looking.
9/10.
This is exactly what I was hoping for in this series, this is a terrific thriller. It all hangs on a fantastic script, the plot is intriguing, smart and tightly written, super suspenseful with plenty of twists and turns.
Several tense, gripping moments, you'll be on the edge of your seat.
Great characters, all are significant, meaningful and superbly acted, the acting is fantastic, credit to Richard Leech, Maxine Audley and Alex Scott.
A terrific performance from Dudley Foster, he's an actor that doesn't seem to have a lot said about him, but every single time he appears, he's excellent. I've seen him play robus, honest characters, here he's fantastic as one that's very menacing.
Great visuals once again, actual British snow, there was a lot of it that winter, and as for Yvonne's fabulous Citroen, it really is slick looking.
9/10.
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