Francis Durbridge: Paul Temple und der Fall Marquis

Luminously pretty Patricia Dainton and handsome co-star John Bentley are the resolute crime-busting Temples, dangerously entwined in this ripping 50s murder mystery about a sordid series of especially grisly murders. This delightful trip into warmly crumpeted cinematic nostalgia includes an early, and no less magisterial performance from future Hammer Films icon Christopher Lee as the deliciously ambivalent, charmingly charismatic Mr. Felix. 'Bombay Waterfront' cannot be regarded as the most sophisticated Paul Temple thriller, but our whip-smart, sharp-shooting sleuth makes for an engaging hero hot on the dastardly trail of the wholly despicable criminal mastermind 'The Marquis, who frustratingly proves to be a most worthy and Machiavellian adversary for Mr. Temple! 'Bombay Waterfront' aka 'Paul Temple Returns' retains much of its period charm, being a serviceable, rather than sensational 50s B/W potboiler, but the entirely splendid cast effortlessly smooths the jaunty thriller's rougher edges!

The temples (john bentley, patricia dainton) are hot on the trail of "the marquis", a murderer roaming the streets. He's even sent letters to the temples, daring them to catch him. Number one suspect is sir raybourne. That's the guest star christopher lee, who pops up in so many dark, mystery films. Lee also played saruman and some evil star wars characters. Of course, there's a running gag where the servant rikki from rangoon has been replaced by his brother sakki. And his cooking is just as bad. It's all okay. Nothing too special. Lots of suspects, and nothing too clever to tip us off as to who-dunnit. Directed by maclean rogers. Based on the story by francis durbridge. The original british title was "paul temple returns". A pretty rough copy of the film. The picture is okay, but there's a high pitched noise present for the first half of the film. And near the end, when they are in the warehouse, it's pitch dark for such a long time, with just nothing happening. Really brings the film to a halt. It's all just okay.

With Scotland Yard puzzled by a serial killer, and with himself already being warned off by the perpetrating "Marquis", amateur sleuth "Paul Temple" (John Bentley) and his wife "Steve" (Patricia Dainton) are drafted in by "Sir Graham" (Peter Gawthorne) to help "Insp. Ross" (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) with the investigation. Pretty swiftly, with the body count starting to mount, they begin to become embroiled with the enigmatic Egyptologist "Sir Felix" (Christopher Lee), some ancient papyri and a vial of something mysterious. With no shortage of candidates and events become ever more menacing, the couple have to get their thinking caps on before their heads no longer need them. There's an amiable degree of chemistry between Bentley and Temple and with a few red herrings straddling their path, the mystery unfolds steadily for just over an hour of rope climbing, dark passages and burning hay bales. I didn't love the factotum "Sakki" (Dan Jackson) so much - a sort of Mantan Moreland without the mischief or the charm and the ending is all a bit rushed, but it's a passable afternoon watch for budding criminologists.

Nice to see no imagination was spared for Bombay Waterfront, aka Paul Temple returns.

John Bentley reprises his role as Paul Temple, the author of detective stories and part-time detective. His wife Steve is played by a different actress than in Calling Paul Temple. This time it's lovely Patricia Dainton.

This series is based on radio shows, and I'm wondering if they were all identical, but with different names and a different Mcguffin.

As far as I can tell, the story is the same: a serial killer now named The Marquess, a mysterious foreigner who may or may not be involved, warning notes, car crashes, some old castle or shack in the woods, a bunch of suspects, and danger for Paul and Steve.

What I liked were the cozy English cottages and the archaic equipment used by the firemen.

At least with this one, I knew whodunnit.

BBC radio made a serialize story, "Paul Temple Intervenes", and this film is based on this character. However, since only British audiences were familiar with it, the title "Paul Temple Returns" was changed to "Bombay Waterfront" for distribution in the United States.

Paul and his oddly named wife, Steve, are husband-wife crime fighters...sort of like a sober and less interesting version of Nick and Nora Charles. A person nicknamed 'The Marquise" is murdering people, and as that is rather nasty, the Temples decide to investigate.

There's nothing horrible about the film, though the end is weak. Otherwise, it's a typical B-sort of movie with the usual cliches. The worst cliches were at the end...where the killer is confronted by a group of folks...and they don't consider he might have a gun or might try to run. And, when Paul is battling the killer, his loyal wife just stands there and doesn't help. Perhaps the guy was heavily insured and Mrs. Temple was happy regardless who won the fight. All I know is that it's an agreeable time-passer, at best, and nothing more.

Dumb at end with gun and mrs. Temple then she just stands there.