Double Confession

This film looks as if it has been cobbled together by a number of writers neither of whom had seen what the others were writing.There are so many contrivances and coincidences that at times make the film seem ludicrous.There seem to be half a dozen films in one,none of which seem to be connected.However there has to be some entertainment value in watching Kathleen Harrison trying to play beach cricket and Leslie Dwyer playing with his model boat in a three piece suit with his trouser legs rolled up.The main plot is just plain daft enlivened by the chalk and cheese performances and pairing of Lorre and Hartnell.There is one scene in the climax with Lorre at full blast which reminds of the scene between him and Bogart in The Maltese Falcon when Bogart takes his gun away.Unfortunately the antics of Lorre nor brief glimpses of familiar faces such as Esme Cannon and a very young Peter Butterworth cannnot save this mess submerging beneath the waves.

Derek Farr gets off the train at the seaside resort and starts down the cliff, directed by lobsterman Edward Rigby. The next morning, he's wandering around, running into Joan Hopkins, and threatening old friend and local restaurant magnate William Hartnell with telling the police that he killed his wife at that house. Hartnell denies it, but fears the scandal will ruin him and make his wife and two sons miserable. Peter Lorre, whom Hartnell saved from death, and who now is doglike in his devotion, suggests that he will kill Farr for him. Something is worrying Miss Hopkins. Not only is Farr's wife dead, but so is Rigby. Inspector Naunton Wayne has to figure out what happened.

It's always dark days at seaside fun fairs in England, isn't it? It's a black, tangled mare's nest for the characters and audience to puzzle over, and a grand cast of character actors, including Kathleen Harrison, Leslie Dwyer, and Peter Butterworth. Everyone has something to hide, everyone has something to regret, and if this is in no way a fun movie, it certainly is one that holds your attention.

DOUBLE CONFESSION is a once-lost British slice of film noir, filmed in the coastal resort of Bexhill-on-Sea. The film itself is only partially successful, featuring a very bland and undistinguished leading man in Derek Farr, and is also quite badly written with lots of extraneous sub-plots to pad out the running time. But it also has one of the most wonderful casts in a film from this era.

The general vibe here is BRIGHTON ROCK, although there's also a murder mystery aspect to the story as Farr attempts to solve a dual murder: that of his wife, and another chap who happened to fall from a cliff at virtually the same time. Sadly the premise is confusing, mainly because the second cliff-top murder isn't actually shown, and things don't become clear until the very end. The female cast also fare badly, engaged in bland sub-plots that merely slow the pacing down.

Still, there are some good set-pieces here and there, not least an attack by speedboat that bears some stylistic similarities to the famous crop-duster attack in NORTH BY NORTHWEST - maybe Hitch got inspiration from this? The rousing climax is also worth waiting for, but the main reason to watch this is the supporting cast which is absolutely packed with familiar faces. William Hartnell and Peter Lorre make a fine tag-team as the villains, but that's only the start. There's Ronald Howard as a journalist, George Woodbridge as a copper, Leslie Dwyer as a random guy enjoying himself at the beach, and the wonderful comic actor Naunton Wayne (THE LADY VANISHES) as the investigating detective. There are also bit parts for future faces like CARRY ON actors Peter Butterworth and Esma Cannon. All in all a great collection of names which makes DOUBLE CONFESSION well worth a watch.

This was director Ken Annakin's first film. It shows clearly that he had superior talent from the very beginning of his career. It was particularly interesting for me to see Ken's first film because I knew him so well and he and I worked on something together, so that I am familiar with his working methods. It is only in contemporary times that the old movies made by one's friends are released on DVD and one can see what they did in the beginnings of their careers. Even they themselves rarely had copies of their own early work, because it would have meant having 35mm prints. This film noir is based on a novel by John Garden entitled ALL ON A SUMMER'S DAY, which was published in 1949. It is set at an English seaside resort with the fictitious name of Seagate, which has a pebble beach, a promenade, a very prominent and extensive fairground, is near high cliffs, and is crowded with people on holiday. The actual filming locations were Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, which are near each other in East Sussex. In 1950, the British spent their holidays at such places rather than going abroad. That was not only because cheap air travel did not yet exist, but because there were severe limitations on the amount of currency one could take out of the country. No one was permitted to take more than £50 in cash abroad, and credit cards had not yet been invented. (I need to explain all this because younger people today know nothing of the past and hence are liable to misinterpret such things.) The film contains some notable performances. William Hartnell is particularly good as an unscrupulous businessman who does not shy away from violence when necessary. The character actor Edward Rigby is excellent as an 'old salt', a local fisherman who is just going down the deserted cliffside by moonlight to look after his lobster pots at 4 AM when he runs into trouble. Rigby died the next year, having spent 50 years on stage and having appeared in his first film in 1910. The female lead is a particularly charming and delightful actress named Joan Hopkins, who made five feature films between 1947 and 1950 (of which this was the last), appeared in some television dramas, and then in 1954 retired from acting. She married the film director Henry Cass, and she lived to be 87. Her retirement from acting was a great loss to the screen, because she had many of the same qualities as Deborah Kerr and could have had a marvellous lifelong career. Peter Lorre plays a criminally-minded associate of Hartnell, with his usual expert portrayal of an eccentric and neurotic man of disturbed mind and morals. Towards the end of the film, he has to be very dramatic indeed and gives what is usually called 'a towering performance'. In fact those are the most powerful scenes I have ever seen him in, and it is as if he were possessed. Anyone interested in Peter Lorre really needs to see this film. Annakin adds numerous imaginative touches to the film, including scenes with an eccentric and amusing little girl, which have nothing to do with the story but raise the film well above the level of the mediocre. The story is mysterious. Derek Farr, the male lead, arrives at Seagate late at night by the mail train (arriving at 3:30 AM) and walks a long way by moonlight to a lonely cottage at the base of the local cliffs. Strange goings-on occur there, and we hear a shrill scream. Who has done what to whom? Hartnell is there at the cottage, seen by Farr, and shortly afterwards someone else falls from the cliff to the beach, but who is he? It isn't Farr and it isn't Hartnell. Naunton Wayne plays the local police inspector who has to solve the murders of two people on one night, one of whom is under a false name and the other of whom is never seen in the film. The scenes where Farr and Joan Hopkins sit chatting on the beach provide well-placed moments of calm and normality in the midst of a story which swirls with intrigue and tension. The contrast serves to remind us of just how abnormal the wider situation really is. The title refers to more than one person confessing to the same murder. This film has been made with such style and imagination that it is a genuinely superior film noir.

This is quite a decent, complex, little British crime drama with Derek Farr as "Jim Medway" who turns up at an English seaside resort whereupon, shortly afterwards, his wife is found murdered in the "White Cottage". The police investigation is soon focussed on him, so he tries to fit up local bigwig "Charlie Durham" (William Hartnell) with whom he has certain history, and finds he has bitten off a bit more than he was expecting to chew. It's a superior first effort from Ken Annakin that capitalises on the quirky novel from John Garden and some solid performances on screen - including an on-form Peter Lorre as Hartnell's slightly bonkers sidekick and local journo "Hilary Boscombe" (Ronald Howard) that keeps the pot boiling well for 80 minutes. Rarely seen nowadays, but worth a watch if you like your mysteries with a little more meat on the bone.