Blind Spot

"Blind Spot" is a remake of the 1950 film "Blackout"...and in general I prefer the originals. However, in this case, I've never seen the 1950 movie and just saw this one for one reason...which I'll get to in a bit.

The story stars Robert MacKenzie. I tried in vain to look up information about him and where he was from, but despite playing an American in this movie, he sure sounded like a Brit trying to sound like a very brusk American.

Captain Dan Adams (MacKenzie) is an American serviceman who was blinded some time ago in an accident. He's spent the last several months in the hospital but takes time off to go into town. When he is dropped off at the wrong location, he doesn't realize it. After all...he IS blind. When he enters the residence, he finds a body on the floor. Soon a couple guys arrive and smack him over the head...knocking him out. He awakens in the hospital and tells the authorities...but no one seems concerned.

Soon the Captain undergoes surgery and his sight is restored. Now he goes in search of what happened...but once again when he finds some incriminating information about the murder AND he receives a package bomb soon after (which kills his friend), the police don't seem all that concerned. In fact, at every turn, folks seem to either lie to him or minimize his concerns. What REALLY is going on here?

This is a pretty typical British B-mystery. The big reason I watched it is to see Michael Caine in one of his early roles. Well, not yet being a star, he had to take what he could get...and in this case this meant playing the corpse that the Captain discovers! A role that gave him experience but not an especially plum role!

Is it worth seeing? Well, for Caine...no. You only briefly see him on the floor as well as a photo of him as well as in a short segment at the very end...so Caine fans won't be especially impressed. Also, his voice seems to be dubbed...it's NOT Caine's voice unless he had a LOT of voice training to change his voice...A LOT! As to the movie itself, even though I never saw the original, the plot seems very, very familiar and I've seen other movies like it. It is reasonably entertaining and well done...but nothing special.

I caught this minor gem many years back on afternoon tv. I was very entertained by the plot of an American Army officer who is stationed in contemporary (late 50's) England, suffers a brain injury that blinds him, and while trying to find the address of a friend enters the wrong flat (still blind), gets thumped on the head by an unknown assailant who promptly takes off, and leaves our hero cured of his blindness--and in the middle of a big crime conspiracy...all in the first ten minutes of the film! Movie buffs may remember this for Michael Caine's bottom-listing in the opening credits(it turns out he has lot more to do with the plot than first apparent. My favorite feature of this is hero Robert Mackenzie( whom you may recognize as the antagonist Gibbons in "Fiend Without A Face") trying very hard --and almost succeeding--in hiding his Scots accent. If you see it in your listings, give it a look.

To a-mccleave You can see this film on Talking pictures TV. If you have a Humax Freeview Box you will be able to record it and keep it indefinately. Hope this helps. Donald

BLIND SPOT is another low budget B-movie thriller from Butcher's Films, a company known for producing films that were always cheap and sometimes gems. This isn't a gem, but it is worth a look for the presence of many future famous actors, alongside a not-bad storyline if you can overlook the contrivances.

The storyline involves an American soldier who's been left temporarily blind by an injury. Thanks to his blindness he accidentally ends up at the wrong address, where he stumbles upon a murder in progress. The murderers let him go after throwing him down some steps. Later, the soldier recovers his sight, but there appears to be no trace of the crime so he attempts to solve it for himself. The story is reminiscent of a Hitchcock one but the paucity of the budget makes it a little dull.

It's all very slight, of course, with the usual storyline involving the gang of villains who must be outwitted at all costs. There are minor twists here, betrayals and the like, alongside a couple of middling fist fights to keep things moving along. The supporting cast is where the interest lies, although Robert Mackenzie (FIEND WITHOUT A FACE) is a wooden hero whose Scottish accent keeps appearing through his American one. A youthful Gordon Jackson pops up as an ally, while Michael Caine has an early cameo. John Le Mesurier has a slightly bigger supporting role, while George Pastell (IMPACT) is once again typecast as the villain.

The only reason for watching this spectacularly undistinguished little clinker is the presence of Michael Caine thirteenth in the cast list. We see his framed photograph early on and he's talked about a lot before finally emerging smirking from the shadows like Harry Lime in 'The Third Man'.

The story starts like 'The Day of the Triffids' with the hero temporarily blinded following treatment to his eyes. A lot then happens before you reach the conclusion but you won't care; and Delphi Lawrence is completely wasted as the foreign-accented femme fatale who puts in an occasional appearance.

Every now the music on the soundtrack barges in to tell you something dramatic has just happened; which, annoying as it is, is probably just as well since that's the only way you'd know.