Der Mann, der einen Mord vergaß

PIT OF DARKNESS is another decent British B-film written and directed by Lance Comfort. He seems to have a good run of them in the early 1960s, making every penny of his low budgets count, and as a result this densely-plotted story is one of the better Butcher's Film Service outings in existence.

The film features everyman lead William Franklyn as a kind of proto Bourne, waking up with no memory after suffering a violent assault. The last three weeks of his life are a blur, but it soon transpires that he's been involved with some dodgy characters who haven't quite finished with him. Comfort keeps you guessing as to the outcome of the story, and all is eventually revealed via a lengthy flashback.

This is one of those films where everything just gels together quite nicely. It's certainly not the best of its kind but it's also hard to fault. Franklyn is a dependable lead but the supporting cast is even better. Nigel Green is the authoritative and a youthful Anthony Booth a spiv type. Nanette Newman makes an impact as a woman caught up in the plot. Leonard Sachs is a slimy villain and the delightful Michael Balfour a henchman who shows up towards the end. The climactic scenes in particular are quite exciting and overall PIT OF DARKNESS is sure to be enjoyed by fans of this genre.

I found "Pit Of Darkness" a reasonable film to watch but with several plot holes, not least no-one wondering if there was a connection between William Franklyn being missing for three weeks and one of his firm's safes being robbed by an expert. And the partner in the firm didn't even mention the incident when Franklyn did turn up. The gang that held him must have been very considerate in allowing him to buy some smart new clothes after they'd messed up those he'd been wearing when they captured him!

It wasn't very bright of Franklyn to accept the blonde hostess's invitation to her flat after her previous invitation to a cottage had nearly led to his death. And then the gang, after several attempts to bump him off, suddenly realised that they needed him to crack another safe.

As another reviewer has suggested, the makers seem to have taken bits of plots from other films and untidily cobbled them together.

Franklyn acted well enough and there were several interesting names in the supporting cast.

Amnesia is a staple of film noir and has been dealt with memorably, if you'll pardon the pun, in dozens of films such as Street of Chance (1942), Somewhere in the Night (1946), Home at Seven (1952) and Spellbound (1945). More recently, Colin Farrell lost his memory in Total Recall (2012) which some will no doubt label as a techno-noir. This film, however, is easily forgotten. Lance Comfort was a prolific director. Looking at the list of films I've seen this year I come across Tomorrow at Ten (1962), Bedelia (1946), Hatter's Castle (1941,) Breaking Point (1961), The Painted Smile (1962), Rag Doll(1962), and Hotel Reserve (1944), all directed by Comfort, and all superior to this absurdly plotted, oddly photographed (there are several pointless, lingering close-ups of William Franklyn, Bruno Barnabe, Nanette Newman et al) and poorly acted (especially by Franklyn, who gives underacting a bad name) programmer that would have been more effective at the 50-60 minutes mark rather the thrill-less 77 I sat through. Still, this time tomorrow I won't remember a thing about this dud.

This is quite an engaging story of a man "Logan" (William Franklyn) who comes to on a bombed-out Wapping waste ground with a bloody head. On returning home, he discovers from wife "Julie" (Moira Redmond) that he has been AWOL for three weeks - and he has no idea what happened in the intervening time. It soon becomes clear that his mysterious disappearance is connected with his business - he designs and instals safes - and he must try and piece to gather what happened. Neither the writing (it's a bit repetitive) nor Franklyn are great, to be honest, but Nigel Green and Leonard Sachs (with Tony Booth) help chivvy things along now and again. It's pretty obvious why "Logan" was the target, but the perpetrators remain a mystery til quite near the end and as low budget Butcher's efforts go, this is up in their upper echelons with a smidgen of psychology injected into the plot, too. Could have done without Ronnie Hall and his crooning, though....!

Pit of Darkness is a British B film about safe maker Richard Logan (William Franklyn) waking up dazed and confused in some wasteland. He has amnesia and he went missing for three weeks.

When he arrives home his wife Julie (Moira Redmond) is shocked to see him. She thought he has been having an affair and gone off with another woman. Julie even hired a private detective who wound up dead.

When he gets back to the office Richard tries to put together what happened to him. Slowly some memories return in a hazy fashion. Her wife's voice signifying that she is being threatened. A blond young woman who was getting a bit flirty.

Some press cuttings missing from his firm. There has been a recent robbery where a safe installed by his firm was broken into. Richard get suspicious of her secretary's boyfriend who is always hanging about.

A few clues lead Richard to a nightclub owned by a man called Conrad. Maybe Richard was forced to rob a safe against his will.

An entertaining B movie. With a few flaws such as why the baddies keep Richard a fair few times. The security in Richard and his partner's firm was shocking. They seem to employ all sorts.