Murder in Eden

Very good Brit B, with Ray McAnally (better known to me as a car connoisseur on BBC Entertainment, and here acting none at all anally) playing an effective Inspector Sharkey, and Feller trying to pass off as a French girl with bulging eyes in a cute bubble car, whilst the villainous vehicle is a magnificent Bentley with a weird "Spirit of the Wolf" metallic figurehead... ah, the saucy sixties!

Sexy Yvonne Buckingham is a palace playing the sadly short part of Vicky Woolf. Exquisite face, figure and legs - to die for!

Competent photography (despite the obvious painted background in the final sequence), excellent and very melodious French accordion soundtrack and capable direction by Max Varnel (whom I do not know from Adam but whose father was apparently a French director of some standing), all neatly packed into an economical 61 minutes. Definitely worth watching!

One of several British 'B's to be filmed at Ireland's Ardmore studios around the turn of the Sixties, featuring an early leading film role for outstanding character actor Ray McAnally, with estimable contemporary Norman Rodway among the supporting cast. I had the art forger and murderer figured out pretty early on, but was still thrown by one twist toward the end, and it was worth watching. Can only echo the comment that it would have been better had the lovely Yvonne Buckingham been leading lady.

"Murder in Eden" (1961) is a very minor British crime drama about art forgery and art theft, something I've seen done much better, but, admittedly, so many times before that this version of the same ol' same ol' has me stymied as to being creative enough to write a review that's worthy of it. It's not a bad drama at all. At only 63 minutes it doesn't wear itself out, although my wife was getting antsy and wishing it were over so she could watch re-runs of "The Big Bang Theory". That probably says enough. Oh, Norman Rodway's in it, so that makes it worth the watch. It actually stars Ray McAnally and Catherine Feller. Feller's in it far too much, and, I'm very sorry to say, we noticed her overbite far more than her acting. McAnally, who ended up a great character actor in England, is very good, but his charisma in this for some reason tries to hide behind shadows and can't be seen very often. Such ghostly presence isn't conducive to promoting star material. Rather, it hides it like a star in the sky's hidden during the day by the sun. Here, the sun was hidden too. After all, this was black and white, and the two mixed together makes grey - my overall view of the film. One last thing, Yvonne Buckingham's in it. If she'd just traded places with Catherine Feller... But then, coulda, shoulda...it woulda...

Murder in Eden is a quota quickie. A low budget B movie that has an early leading role for the great character actor Ray McAnally.

He plays Inspector Sharkey called into investigate the death of an art critic in a hit and run accident. The critic had earlier claimed that some paintings in an art exhibition were fake.

Sharkey finds himself paired up with a beautiful French journalist Geneviève Beaujean. It is not long before someone tries to run Sharkey over.

A brisk plot but it still feels padded. At least there is an interesting twist near the end but was Sharkey always one step ahead?

This might be the only time McAnally had a leading role in a movie. Then again the film was shot in Ireland but is supposedly set in London.

After he denounces a valuable painting as a fraud, art critic Max Aaronson is killed in a bit and run accident, but who possibly could have done it?

Better than I was expecting, definitely better than some of the comments would suggest, it's a very pleasing mystery, one with a couple of decent twists and turns.

There's a good scuttle at the end, with some decent looking fisticuffs, not always a success at this point in time, but they work here.

If you're a fan of all things 1960's, like I am, then there'll be something here for you, even if the story isn't quite your thing, you'll enjoy the fashions, styles, music and of course Genevieve's fabulous bubble car.

Solid performances throughout, everyone plays their part well, Genevieve was a cracking character.

7/10.