Salute the Toff

SALUTE THE TOFF is the first of two John Creasey thriller adaptations directed by Maclean Rogers and starring John Bentley. The Toff is an upper classic crime fighter who has his own manservant and goes around solving crime in a polite way, although he's good with his fists when he needs to be. I thought the sequel to this film, HAMMER THE TOFF, had the edge, although this is still serviceable enough.

SALUTE THE TOFF is one of many films made at Nettlefold Studios, although has more location work and scene changes than most. The story begins with a missing boss and a pretty young secretary (Carol Marsh, who you may remember getting vampirised in Dracula) enlisting the aid of our sleuth to find out what's going on. The action involves the hunt for some missing papers and a rather complex insurance fraud.

The villains are a rather underdeveloped lot but on the other hand, the Toff enlists some great comic relief in support. The pub landlord and his boxing enthusiast allies are great fun and Roddy Hughes gets some great lines as the constantly put-upon servant Jolly. Bentley breezes through the thing with effortless charm, Valentine Dyall plays in support as a detective, and Marsh is simply lovely. Nothing much to dislike about this one, then.

A Toff that becomes a Sleuth! Complex Plot! Rubbish French Singing!

John Bentley as John Creasey's amateur sleuth "who's caught more criminals than the police put together" nonchalantly stumbles across one corpse after another while Geoffrey Faithfull's atmospheric photography as usual competes with Wilfred Burns' obtrusive music.

Despite appearances by new boys Arthur Hill and Tony Britton, it all has a rather thirties feel to it, even down to the presence of Peter Gawthorne and Wally Patch, the latter sporting what looks like the same jauntily-worn bowler hat and flat cap he was wearing before the war.

John Bentley (whom some of a certain age might remember as Meg Richardson's husband in TV soap Crossroads back in the '70s) plays the aristocratic sleuth in this low-budget offering - and very suave he is, too. He's searching for a missing businessman wanted for murder after a body is found in his flat, but finds that the story behind the murder isn't quite as straightforward as it first seemed. An ok time-filler that's hindered by its modest budget, and the fact that, despite the convoluted plot, the villain is fairly obvious early on. At least Wally Patch is on hand to keep things lively.

The Toff bears remarkable similarities to the Saint.he is very much the aristocrat.He sails close to the wind at times.He has a comedy aide.He always knows better than the police and of course he always ends up right and with a woman on his arm.It has to be said that the plot is rather convoluted and even though I watched it twice I still could not quite make out the plot.Probably because in one scene Valentine Dyall tells you what he thinks has happened at such a speed that you rather loose the thread of what he is saying.John Bentley gives a good impression of George sanders,though not as laconic or laid back.There is a lot of action and murders aplenty so even if like me you cannot quite work out what is happening,nevertheless less you can still enjoy the action.