Tiger by the Tail

I had never heard of Director John Gilling - who also has a hand in the screenplay in TIGER BY THE TAIL - but his is a name that I will look out for from now on: he managed a work of real quality in the areas of acting, cinematography, editing, script, and art direction.

The acting, especially by Cyril Chamberlain as the quietly evil Foster, alias Dr Wainwright, and by the stunningly beautiful Constance Smith, deserves plaudits. On a lesser level, Thora Hird (who would subsequently shine on British TV), Donald Stewart as a kind of childish and British Dan Duryea, and the central male lead Larry Parks, who fills the then necessary American quota but actually neither looks nor sounds convincing enough for the part, let alone to catch a scrumptious dish like Constance.

The latter is the epitome of the British secretary's efficiency in the film, and the epitome of British feminine class and beauty, and I could watch her elegantly move about for the rest of my life.

Cinematography by Eric Cross is superb, well judged editing, and the soundtrack by the uncredited Stanley Black reflects quality and purpose even if rather subtle and often silenced off somewhat too soon.

Perhaps the ending could have been clearer but to me it does not damage the rest of the flick. Really enjoyed it!

Another film with an american lead but at least he plays an american. I love the plot idea and it works well at the beginning with decent acting. It slows when the 'committee' gets mentioned and some bits are a bit improbable towards the end. But it was worth the watch!

I thought TIGER BY THE TAIL was one of the better Tempean Films movies I've watched, something which has a kind of Hitchcockian 'wronged man' thriller flavour to it. It stars the Kansas-born imported American star Larry Parks as a journalist who arrives in London and immediately falls for the charms of a femme fatale, played well by Lisa Daniely. Unfortunately she's also involved with a criminal gang, who soon have Parks in their sights.

This is a short and snappy chase thriller with plenty of tension to recommend it. There's also a surprising amount of atmosphere and funny moments, like when Parks visits Thora Hird's house which is straight out of a Hitchcock movie like SABOTEUR. Parks and Constance Smith aren't the most exciting of leads but they're not bad and you get supporting players like Alexander Gauge and Ronald Leigh-Hunt who can be relied upon to give professional performances. The interlude in the hospital is very well done. John Gilling once again directed, from his own script.

The action is fast, the drama tends to constantly accelerate, the villains are unpleasant enough, one of them appropriately sadistic and stupid at that, the murders tend to multiply, the car chases tend to constantly involve more cars, both the ladies are attractive and lovable enough, although one gets killed and the other gets out of any trouble without a scratch, the plot is thick enough and constantly gets thicker, while we never learn anything about the "committee" which all the villains seem frightened to death of, so the main intrigue is actually missing, suggesting some monkey business in counterfeit money and laundry. Lisa Daniely as the first lady in the parade actually cautions Larry Sparks not to ask any questions, while he commits the mistake of insisting on getting something out of her, which triggers all the problems and plunges him into a gruesome mess of unpleasantness. Larry Parks as the journalist is actually very much reminding of Jack Lemmon, they are the same type, and there is a lot of humour refreshing this film. Larry Parks was actually one of those many exiles from the US during the McCarthy witch-hunts, and like so many others he did better in British films than at home.

Writing in the second edition of his seminal book on the history of crime fiction "Bloody Murder " the esteemed British critic Julian Symons bestowed strong praise on the novel "Newer Look Back " by John Mair saying it was well in advance of its era in terms of psychological insight and morality . This movie is based on the novel and signally fails to do it justice .It's not actively bad -just very pedestrian and predictable .It opens vividly with the figure of US London based journalist John Desmomd staggering through the deserted streets severely wounded ,and being taken into custody by the police .The tale then unfolds in flashback .Desmond has accidentally killed a woman with whom he is embroiled in an affair .She was a member of a counterfeiting gang whose diary ,which is in his possession ,contains a code which is the key to the continuing operation of the gang .His life is in danger from the gang and he goes on the run aided by his secretary .He is captured ,escapes and feigns amnesia before the conclusion of the tale

Poorly acted and perfunctorily directed this is not a movie that ever rises above the mediocre and those wanting a version of the novel should seek out copies of the BBC TV version from the mid 1990's .