Death on the Set

This is one of the least interesting mystery thrillers that I've seen from the era. There's some self-referencing stuff in that the film is set on and around a stage where the director and crew are busy shooting a gangster movie, but the central thrust of the story - that the director has an exact double who just so happens to be a visiting gangster from America - is so ludicrous that you can never take it seriously.

For a film with a simple 73 minute running time, this sure is dull, aside from that guns-blazing opening sequence which wrong foots the viewer. Talky, and dull, with characters who remain unappealing to the viewer from beginning to end, particularly that of the lead actress. Popular actor Henry Kendall (THE MAN OUTSIDE) plays the central dual roles here and despite some early and effective split screen effects, he doesn't really convince as either character.

As ever, it's left to some brief working class comic relief (in the form of the long-suffering sergeant) to lift the spirits. Even the crucial murder scene is oddly boring, and things only start to pick up at the very end as the net closes in. It feels like the makers of DEATH ON THE SET were hoping to rival the big American crime thrillers of the era, but their effort is a mere weak imitation.

All kinds of British films are erroneously designated as 'quota quickies' on IMDb and elsewhere but this is an example of the real thing. About the only inspired piece is the opening, where a risibly acted raid on a nightclub by American gangsters turns out to be just a scene in a bad film whose director, a nasty piece of work, just happens to have a double whom is wanted for murder in the US. Henry Kendall is not very convincing in either role and the plot strains credibility throughout. Almost ten minutes of footage were missing in the American release version under review, and though can't believe they would have made much difference, it would be interesting to see what was cut and why. Cast also includes Eve Gray, once dubbed 'the most beautiful girl in British films' as the director's lover who falls foul of his double and American actor Ben Welden who spent several years in the UK in the early Thirties.

Confused and confusing story set nominally in a film studio concerning two people who look the same and the murders that occur around them.

I'm going to attempt to explain what I understand of the plot which is needlessly messy. If this doesn't make a great deal of sense blame the film makers not me.

A film director is actually a wanted man from America. Working at the studio is another man who could be his twin. The director sensing that he is about to be found out, convinces his "twin" to switch places with him. The ploy is to establish himself as his "twin" and then bump him off allowing him to go off with out being charges. However things don't go as planned and he ends up having to contend with the events in this new life.

Trust me its much more confusing than that with plot lines including blackmail, more murders, and jealousy. Even allowing for the fact that the print (from Sinister Cinema) I saw runs 55 minutes as opposed to the IMDb time of 72, this film is a real mess. The acting is okay but the plot just goes in wild circles in order to spin out to a required running time.If you want a good example of a British quota film this is it. Frankly other than the actors I don't think anyone cared about this film, all one need do is look at the opening gangster movie sequence to realize that this was viewed as a joke (and a not very funny one). Two minutes in I was ready to turn it off, of course it got better but barely.

This is mostly a waste of time. If you want a movie to seriously engage you look elsewhere. If you want a film that you can view as a cryptic challenge then by all means give this one a try.