Little Red Monkey

THE CASE OF THE RED MONKEY, aka LITTLE RED MONKEY, is a fun little mix of murder mystery and spy thriller of the 1950s. This is very much a film of its era, complete with a title and theme tune taken from a popular tune of the era and a Cold War backdrop. When nuclear scientists are being murdered in London, it takes a US special agent in the form of Richard Conte to track down the killer. The addition of the monkey to the plot is a novel and offbeat twist, and there's enough disparate elements from action to romance to spy shenanigans and the like to keep it bubbling away merrily from beginning to end.

Richard Conte is the visiting American actor for this decent enough British-made thriller. He, "Locklin", is charged with ensuring the safe transfer of a defecting Soviet nuclear scientist "Dushenko" (Arnold Marlé). Simultaneously, a spate of murders is occurring in London and Scotland Yard (Russell Napier) initially baffled, soon discovers that there is a connection and so he and "Locklin" have to work together to thwart the daring plot - starting with just a monkey's paw print for a clue! It's a bit formulaic this, there is a journalist (Colin Gordon) in on the search too; a kidnap and some good old fashioned thumb-screw techniques as the baddies try to elicit the location of their prey. At times it can look little better than a filmed radio play, but at just over the hour, it doesn't hang about. The writing and the acting do their jobs, and though we know pretty early on who is who, it's still quite an enjoyable cold war drama.

Richard Conte is to film noir what Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott or Audie Murphy are to the Western: reliable lead without ever attaining superstar status. In this film, as ever, Conte delivers a competent performance well backed up by strong direction from Ken Hughes, and a quiet performance of immense quality by Russell Napier, playing the part of Superintendent Harrington in a typical but highly perceptive British stiff upper lip show.

At stake is the Cold War, espionage and the brain drain from the USSR to the USA, with the action happening on British soil. A monkey keeps appearing at murder scenes but in the end it is not the monkey that is icing the scientists. Pity, I have always wanted to see an animal take shots at human beings with cross hairs to even out the contest a little bit.

Lovely Rona Anderson plays the love interest - perhaps a little too eagerly to seem convincing.

Highly professional cinematography by James Ambor. Fair script by Eastwood and Hughes. I enjoyed it well enough to recommend it.

Superintendent Harrington (Russell Napier) is charged with investigating the deaths of British nuclear scientists.

A monkey creature is present when the killings took place. Maybe the Russians have trained primates to carry out the killings.

Bill Locklin (Richard Conte) is the State Department official who has flown into London to bring a Russian defector to America.

However the Russian spies are hot on his heels with the help of collaborators.

Locklin and Harrington need to keep them at bay while the press act as a nuisance.

Little Red Monkey is a passable B movie set during the 1950s cold war. Conte is the obligatory American star.

It moves along nicely as the audience work out just how a monkey could be an assassin. The presence of a little boy is a clue as to how the deaths may have been carried out.

The Burgess, Maclean and Philby spy drama of the early 1950s inspired Merton Park Studios to produce this cold war'B' drama about a midget Russian spy who controls a red monkey and who with his spy colleagues go about bumping off nuclear scientists in Britain.Actor Russell Napier is upgraded from his Scotland Yard inspector role which he performed in the acclaimed Edgar Lustgarten 1950s TV crime series.

Another user review above has written a detailed synopsis of the plot so I won't repeat it.There is a very catchy tune "The Little Red Monkey" played on the organ which was popular at the time and which accompanies this film.Rhona Anderson who plays Russell Napier's niece threw herself I thought too willingly at Richard Conte, the American State Department agent who is helping British security to transport Livchenko to the U.S.to gain political asylum along with his nuclear secrets.At about one hour duration this 'B' movie keeps the attention of the viewer and I awarded it 6/10.