The Adventures of P.C. 49: Investigating the Case of the Guardian Angel

The last couple of editions of the "House of Hammer" podcast have revolved around; an adaptation of the popular radio series "Dick Barton", then the adventures of "River Patrol", where an undercover officer infiltrates a criminal gang. The latest edition details two films based on the radio series "PC49" which combines both of those ideas with a degree of success.

When a band of former Manchester gangsters are robbing trucks on the outskirts of London, PC49 (Hugh Latimer) goes undercover to infiltrate the outfit and bring them down. The plan is complicated when the cover he choses for himself, that of a recently deceased mobster, is compromised by one of the existing gang having been acquainted with him before.

From a technical standpoint, and compared to other films Hammer made at the time, this one is reasonable. The stock footage is kept to a minimum and the sound recording is actually pretty well done, which has been a failing of the earlier films thus far. The performances are generally OK too, even if it's difficult to believe that Hugh Latimer is capable of being a tough beat bobby and the way he beats up the criminals isn't particularly realistic. Towards the end, as it gets more dramatic though, the performances remain a bit too "stiff upper lip" for modern sensibilities.

The story drags a bit in the middle, which is impressive for a movie that's only an hour long, but does recover with a twist that I didn't see coming and then a resolution that seems more based on luck than serious planning.

Still I didn't hate this, which has not always been the case for the films I've watched for the Podcast and I'm interested to see if the sequel can follow the Dick Barton trend and improve on the original.

Hugh Latimer is PC 49 who goes undercover to catch a gang of thieves operating in London and the Home Counties. Their MO is to find out information about lorry cargos and then just blatantly steal the lorry whilst the driver has a snack at a café. Just drive off with the lorry - zoom. It's a simple plan and bags the gang a tidy fortune. However, Hugh is on a mission and it means tracking down the boss.

Who is the boss? Who is Mr Big? If you can't guess immediately, you are pretty stupid. The film screams it at you so there isn't any mystery and this somewhat ruins the tension in the climactic scenes. It's just not a surprise.

The film is ok to pass the time but extremely stupid if you think about it. The plot that the police come up with is ridiculous. Part of Latimer's cover story is that he used to work for a gang with someone who actually works for the gang he is going to infiltrate. What happens when this crook - Martin Benson (Skinny) - comes face to face with Latimer and doesn't recognize him? They don't seem to have covered that base. WHAT??!!

The film may not be brilliant but it just may trigger an urge in you to learn the craft of origami.

Hugh Latimer is the eponymous officer who manages to convince his inspector to take him off his uniformed beat and go undercover to track down a gang of violent thieves. It's based on an old BBC radio series, and his criminal escapades are gentle and engaging - though maybe not the most difficult to grasp. This one has a few red herrings as we try to discover who the "boss" of the gang led by the dastardly John Penrose is, and although Latimer is pretty wooden there are some other good characters "Skinny". "Ma" and "Carrots" amongst them, and the whole hours flows quite well with just enough peril to keep it interesting.