Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueJohn Bedford fights with his aunt Lady Elizabeth Ferguson, who believes he stole her emerald brooch. Then she is murdered. Scotland Yard is on the case and thinks her nephew was behind it. B... Tout lireJohn Bedford fights with his aunt Lady Elizabeth Ferguson, who believes he stole her emerald brooch. Then she is murdered. Scotland Yard is on the case and thinks her nephew was behind it. But it turns out that John has an airtight alibi.John Bedford fights with his aunt Lady Elizabeth Ferguson, who believes he stole her emerald brooch. Then she is murdered. Scotland Yard is on the case and thinks her nephew was behind it. But it turns out that John has an airtight alibi.
- Réalisation
- Scénario
- Casting principal
- Drunk
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- Police Sergeant
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- Pub Customer
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- English Bobby
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- Second Coroner
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Avis à la une
A Republic Pictures low budget flick, and it shows, even with the opening music which is a strain. However (and this is always the case with a B-movie that has survived the years and made it to Netflix), there are some interesting aspects here, and like most of them it is blessedly short.
One of the nice things here is the standard hook--there's a murder afoot, and we are in on the guessing and analyzing as we go. The acting is decent, the filming straight forward if unexciting. It's a British affair unofficially (officially both the director is American and of course Republic is, too), and like many Brit films, it talks a lot (replacing action with chitcat). But it's not stupid, and you might enjoy poking along with it. It is set in London and Scotland Yard gets to work investigating the death of the old aunt with all her supposed wealth.
The leading suspect is the nephew of the deceased, and he is a sparkle in this musty cast--George Leigh, who only did a handful of films and is a bit affected, but he adds life to the whole thing. As does the maid, and the leading lady, Evelyn Ankers, a Chilean born British actress with the standard convincing credentials (but without anything remarkable about her). Ankers is famous for her roles in many horror films, including the original "Wolf Man" a few years before.
In all, the plot thickens and there is not only murder but blackmail, and London fog, and a decent policeman who is after the leading lady as much as the criminal. Unfortunately he seems to know things too easily. And there is an efficiency to the events that isn't quite dramatic or convincing enough. It is frankly a B-movie through and through. And it has a crazy twist of an ending, sort of worth it just for the trick of it.
There's a decent cast, including Evelyn Ankers, but there's an amazing amount of talking around an unsolvable problem for the first 50 minutes of this movie, and the solution isn't reall solved; there's no offering of how he did it. Lesley Selander take a break from horse operas to direct this this one, and while competent as always, can't bring out anything of interest because I suspect, nothing is there.
This is a Columbo-type film that is entertaining and uses the usual dry ice to indicate the London fog. Evelyn Akers was an attractive horror film actress who appeared in 'The Wolf Man" and several of the Rathbone "Sherlock Holmes" mysteries. She is pretty and serviceable here, as is the rest of the cast. George Leigh is kind of a Zachary Scott type and appropriately oily.
Enjoyable.
So, who did pinch the jewel and who murdered the old lady? The inspector has his eye on John as does a Turnkey - who is asking for money to keep him from talking ...
The Fatal Witness lacks a little suspense and a little punch as well as letting the cat out of the bag regarding John's guilt early, but having said this, it's quite watchable with good performances by Evelyn Ankers and the actor who plays the suspected killer (the nephew of the old lady). There's a nice British atmosphere of London fog and unsavoury characters. The finale features a spooky unexpected twist ...
I'm not sure I saw the same movie as my colleagues. In my little book, only Evelyn Ankers supplies some spark for what is otherwise a listless hour. Despite several plot wrinkles, neither acting, nor mood is able to heighten these. Generally, the movie manages neither suspense nor atmosphere. Instead events unfold in pedestrian fashion, not helped by actor Fraser's utterly wooden police inspector. Then too, the careless script telegraphs sinister Leigh's guilt early on, despite his apparent alibi. Nor does inattention to vital detail help, as in the case of Scoggin's throttling before being thrown into the river. Even I know accidental drowning would never pass medical muster—death keeps water out of the lungs while finger marks would appear on the throat. I hate to be niggling but such inattention to important detail is plain sloppy on the screenwriter's part. Naturally not much is expected from Republic's drama department, especially when the mechanical Selander is directing and the studio's is branching out from its usual matinée oaters. Unfortunately, this flat-liner doesn't supply much encouragement.
Le saviez-vous
- AnecdotesFans of OTR (old time radio) will instantly recognize that the "supernatural twist" used at the end of the film was taken from one of the popular radio plays such as Suspense which were aired during the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s and which can be re-appreciated on YouTube and at various OTR, free download websites.
- Citations
John Bedford: No need to be flustered, my dear, you have as much right to be here as my darling Auntie.
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Détails
- Date de sortie
- Pays d’origine
- Site officiel
- Langue
- Aussi connu sous le nom de
- El testigo fatal
- Lieux de tournage
- Société de production
- Voir plus de crédits d'entreprise sur IMDbPro
- Durée59 minutes
- Couleur
- Rapport de forme
- 1.37 : 1