La Treizième heure

Just saw this film for the first time since it's release in 1952. I was 10 years old then and quite enjoyed it. I must say that it has held up pretty well. No great entry in the Victorian, foggy street mystery genre, but it keeps ones interest throughout.

This movie, by the way, was shot in MGM's British studio and features a fine line up of English actors who turn in typically solid performances.

One more thing: this was by no means one of MGM's major productions for 1952. In fact, it pretty much qualifies as a B movie (except for running time); that is, a second, and cheaper, feature on a double bill. By 1952, the traditional B movie (as opposed to pictures that merely had lower budgets than the headlining A efforts) had just about disappeared. Soon, virtually all movies could be classed as A pictures, with the possible exception of the shoestring productions by little companies that often ended up at the local drive-in.

My point is this: studios such as MGM, when they consciously turned out the 60-65 minute movies that were shot in a couple of weeks at most, still maintained a fairly high standard of quality. One can think of the Val Lewton horror films at RKO-Radio Pictures or. . . well, or "The Hour of 13!"

In 1890 London, an 8th policeman is murdered by a serial killer. High class jewel thief Nicholas Revel (Peter Lawford) gets pulled in as the police tries to connect the murders with a stolen emerald.

It has a bit of the Sherlockian vibe. By no means am I saying that the character is Sherlock. It's the Victorian London murder mystery aspect. It does meander around with the trial and after it. Honestly, I'm not following some of this. It does end with thrilling action. All in all, I like tone and the style of this.

The Hour of 13 casts Peter Lawford as a man who has lived beyond his means in Victorian London and has embarked on a life of crime. He decides with a pair of confederates to steal a most valuable emerald.

Lawford has thought this one through and at the same time he's doing his thieving there's a madman, a jack the ripper type using a sword is tabbing to death as many of London's bobbys as he can find. Lawford reasons that Scotland Yard is way too busy looking for this maniac to devote too much time to a jewel robbery.

Not telling any more other than Lawford's scheme nearly blows up in his face with all his fine finessing.

This MGM film was done over in the United Kingdom where Lawford returned to the old country to work with Dawn Addams, Derek Bond, Roland Culver, and Michael Hordern. Lawford fits well into the era along with his fellow British players.

Nice slice of late Victorian London.

Love murder/detective mysteries, particularly ones in period settings (Agatha Christie springs to mind), loved the idea for the story and while not usually a fan of Peter Lawford the intriguing cast (have always liked Michael Hordern) promised a lot. 'The Hour of 13' was one of those films that seemed like it would be right up my alley.

'The Hour of 13' turned out to be enjoyable, diverting and well done, was hoping that would be the case and it was. It will never be one of my favourites and it doesn't blow the mind, but there is a lot to enjoy and fans of the genre won't be too disappointed. Also liked that 'The Hour of 13' didn't try to do too much, knew what it wanted to be and didn't try to be more than it needed to be.

Sure, there could have been more suspense and dread and parts are a little too heavy on the seriousness making one feel that the lightness seen in other parts was more consistent and that one could invest emotionally a bit more.

Occasionally, the pace could have been tighter.

However, 'The Hour of 13' is a handsome-looking film, with atmospheric and handsomely crafted period detail, an appropriate moodiness in the photography and lighting and editing that is never sluggish or frenzied. The music is suitably haunting and while the direction is not especially distinctive it still keeps things interesting.

Much of the time, the script is thoughtful and doesn't get limp or confused. The story may not be much new but has a nice atmosphere and it avoids over-simplicity and convolution, more often than not engaging. The villain does carry off the right amount of menace. The characters carry the film well as do the cast. Lawford's performance is one of his better ones, and classy Dawn Addams and authoritative Michael Hordern are standouts of the accomplished supporting cast.

Concluding, enjoyable fun and works nicely as a film of its genre. Just don't expect anything exceptional. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Peter Lawford stars as Nicholas Revel, a jewel thief who is mistaken for a serial killer of London police officers. To clear himself, Revel has to catch the real killer. An improbably plotted, cliche-ridden, mildly entertaining mystery with Lawford as his usual handsome, debonair, bland self. Not much action except for an effective fight between Revel and the murderer at the film's climax. The cast wanders through a foggy, gaslit studio set that looks like it was left over from a Sherlock Holmes film. This sort of story has been done worse, but it has been done better, too. Mostly it has been done too often.