Die Affäre Delavine

It starts with a murder, but soon news service man Peter Reynolds is on the track of an old jewelry heist, along with wife Honor Blackman in this tightly plotted second feature.

The most notable thing about this short British feature is that there seems to be nothing in it that doesn't lead inevitably to the matter at hand. The other is a rare appearance by Katie Johnson -- best remembered as the old lady later that year in the classic Ealing comedy THE LADYKILLERS. She won a BAFTA as Best Actress for that role. Born in 1878, Miss Price was on the stage by 1894, where she continued to perform at least until 1935. Her first screen role was in 1932, but she was cast almost exclusively in uncredited small roles for the first fifteen years. Then she had a marvelous 1955, made one more movie in 1957, and died that year.

A light-hearted crime film that at 65 minutes ends abruptly and would actually have profited from being a bit longer.

Both Peter Reynolds and Michael Balfour are cast against type as goodies; the former as the reporter hero who stumbles across the corpse that sets the whole thing in motion, the latter as his faithful batman.

Honor Blackman as Reynolds' wife was temporarily mired in the 'B' hive before she learned judo and adopted the lioness's mane she wore for the rest of her life; while two other notable females in the supporting cast are Valerie Vernon as femme fatale Naughty Lola and Katie Johnson in one of her final supporting roles before finding screen immortality as Mrs Lopsided in 'The Ladykillers'.

When it looks like newspaper man "Rex Banner" (Peter Reynolds) is being framed for a murder, he and his wife "Maxine" (Honor Blackman) must try to find out just what happened and who might want to frame him! It's a rather messy detective yarn with one too many red herrings and some pretty mediocre writing. Blackman stands out but that isn't hard, and Gordon Jackson really ought to have read the script before he took the part of "Florian". Katie Johnson ("Miss Bissett") steals the show, but features way too infrequently to rescue this bog-standard afternoon feature from the well trodden path of sleuthing journalists with their glamorous assistants and a less than competent policeman.

Rex Banner, played by Peter Reynolds, is the proprietor of a news agency and having an eye for a good story, becomes an amateur sleuth to find out who murdered his friend Gospel Joe and as a consequence, who was responsible for the theft of the Delavine diamonds sometime earlier. Joe had information about the theft and had asked to see Rex but just as Rex finds his friends body the police arrive and he is initially treated as a suspect.

I found this film quite entertaining for a mid-1950s second feature with interesting characters, good acting, decent plot and a dash of humour. Peter Reynolds, who was often condemned to playing shifty villains in British films, is able and smooth in the role of detective, keeping several steps ahead of the clueless police. I have to say that any film with Honor Blackman, playing his delicious wife, will automatically get my vote. Bit-part spotters will be pleased to see two of Britain's most prolific here. Firstly Michael Balfour reprises for the umpteenth time the hero's sidekick, helping out with a spot of research for Rex and being on hand at the finale. Then the unsung Hal Osmond lifts an otherwise routine scene with a colourful cameo as the 'old man' with the cough. In my opinion THE DELAVINE AFFAIR is a slightly above average film for the genre.

A snappy little British thriller with plenty of stuff to enjoy, THE DELAVINE AFFAIR is yet another film churned out at Nettlefold Studios, with an interesting cast and a plot that never lets up. It's a film that packs plenty of twists and turns into the 64-minute running time, with an erstwhile reporter hero and a sinister villain. The lead character is played by Peter Reynolds, in a welcome departure from his typical performances as cads and bounders. Reynolds brings a cheeky charm to the role of a reporter willing to do anything for a scoop, and the opening sequence - in which he literally stumbles upon the body of an old acquaintance - is great stuff.

The story goes on from there, taking time to feature the lovely Honor Blackman in a significant role as the reporter's wife, and Gordon Jackson as a friend of the family. Valerie Vernon plays an arresting femme fatale and wears some ahead-of-the-time gear. The reliable Michael Balfour (ALBERT, R.N.) plays in support as Reynolds's photographer buddy, and sharp-eyed viewers will spot LADYKILLERS actress Katie Johnson in a minor part. THE DELAVINE AFFAIR is a fine example of the British B-movie, a well-paced and entertaining slice of escapism.