The Teckman Mystery

Nice post-war British espionage mystery. Clever and wonderfully acted. Margaret Leighton super (of course), but whole cast top notch.

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY is the kind of programmer that routinely appears on television but regularly released in cinemas in the Forties and Fifties. It concerns a writer, Philip Chance who is asked to write a book about a recently-deceased pilot Martin Teckman. Initially reluctant to do so, he is drawn into a web of intrigue, organized by Martin's sister (Margaret Leighton), in which Martin is revealed to be not dead at all but the victim of a conspiracy that leads to his attempt to kill himself.

The film offers some good exterior shots of mid-Fifties London, with mercifully less traffic but plenty of secret areas where corruption thrives. The cast don't have too much to do with their roles: Justin acts the part of the debonair writer in more danger than he thinks, while Leighton is marginally too old for her role. Lovers of Fifties curiosities will note that this thriller is directed by a woman, Wendy Toye, one of the few British women to be operative at that time.

In response to the review that felt this movie was slow: well, it didn't open with machine guns blazing, if that's what you mean.

For an older British espionage movie, this film actually moves along quite briskly.

If you like British movies, you are sure to like this. Even if you don't normally watch British film, you may well like this.

If you watched and enjoyed the original Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, you will certainly enjoy this, as the action is sizzling in comparison.

A film about a missing test pilot and Cold War espionage seem a promising foundation for 90 minutes of drama and entertainment. However, despite the first hour of the film offering an exciting, if convoluted narrative, the last 30 minutes drags, meanders and eventually loses its way, mainly due to the fact that the storyline seems to present a very far fetched and tedious series of events. Likeable John Justin, puts in a sound and smooth performance as the writer, who gets caught up in a web of intrigue. The splendid Raymond Huntley, as the publisher, and Roland Culver, as the MI5 officer, offer sterling support, but their lack of screen time give them little time to display their considerable acting skills. On the other hand, Margaret Leighton is woefully miscast as the fraught sister of the missing pilot. She is too cold, detached and always dressed as if she was going to a cocktail party! When she's on the screen, she displays no nuances of emotion, and whatever the scene, her voice and manner remain the same! The ending of the film is sloppily done, disappointing and unconvincing! This is very much a film which shows great promise at the start, but then fizzles out too soon.

John Justin is a writer flying home to London to argue that he shouldn't write the biography of a test pilot whose plane crashed. As he sits on the plane, Margaret Leighton is seated next to him, reading a magazine with a story by him. They get to chatting and he discovers she is the sister of the pilot. He decides to write the book, but as he does his research, the people he wishes to speak to keep dying.

It's a nice little mystery, with director Wendy Toye adhering to many of the conventions of the British film genre, including the police actually knowing how to do their job. It's not a terribly deep mystery, but it does turn into an interesting movie in terms of suspense: The audience and Justin have all the clues they need, and Justin's inability to see the solution puts him at risk. It makes you want to shout at him.