Enquête spéciale

Using the non-de-plume of Jonathan Rix, his grandfather's name, Dennis O'Keefe hied himself over to England and sold this story (with screenplay by John C. Higgins) and ended up as the star and (credited) director of this film that was merely a slight---primarily geography and accents---remake of at least a half-dozen American B-westerns with the plot gimmick revolving around a heroine's scientist father being kidnapped and forced to counterfeit something---diamonds, in this instance---for a gang of crooks. One of the readily available horses-and-sagebrush versions is 1941's "Dude Cowboy" from RKO with Tim Holt, Marjorie Reynolds and Byron Foulger essaying the roles taken here by O'Keefe, Margaret Sheridan and Paul Harmuth. Give "Dude" the edge over "Diamond" on the strength of Ray Whitley's songs.

The Golden Age has given us such a varied roster of genres so far on blu-ray, and each film brings something unique to the vintage funhouse. For The Diamond Wizard, I was intrigued by the prospect of period location shots of 1950s England. Nothing brings a setting and an era to life like 3-D photography, and the filmmakers didn't disappoint. It's a poised, polished and very enjoyable police procedural with noir elements.

The two male stars (Dennis O'Keefe and Philip Friend) play well off each other and contrast nicely as characters, the brash American (O'Keefe) drawing his Scotland Yard counterpart out of his staid shell, always with a friendly nudge. Margaret Sheridan shines as both romantic interest and a potential lead in the case. She's spirited and playful without being a full-blown femme fatale. The supporting cast is very good, and I especially like how each character, down to the smallest part, is given a little quirk to make them memorable, reminiscent of I, The Jury.

Story-wise, it's solid and well-paced. It's also easy to follow. The quaint forensic and investigative techniques are entertaining and informative. There are a couple of twists, but they didn't surprise me all that much. I liked that the action finale didn't outstay its welcome.

The 3-D is better than I hoped it would be. The exterior street shots are incredibly atmospheric, while the interiors are always set up to maximize the sense of space just in front of and behind the frame. It has an elastic effect on the visual field, making us forget where the actual screen is. That's the opposite of a gimmick; it's immersive because it draws us in intuitively. I was always aware of the 3-D but never distracted by it (apart from a few fun pop-outs), and loved every second.

The English setting makes it a personal favourite, but it would be a top-tier Golden Age 3-D title even without that. The impeccable 3-D is complemented by a fun detective yarn, a polished screenplay, and rock-solid performances. Not to mention another outstanding restoration by the 3DFA, one of their best yet. I couldn't ask for more than that.

Likable actor Dennis O'Keefe made a couple of films in England in the '50s. "The Diamond Wizard" from 1954 is his baby all the way - he wrote the original story using a pseudonym (Jonathan Rix), he directed it, and he starred in it.

O'Keefe plays Joe Dennison, a Treasury Dept. investigator in England trying to find a gang who stole a million dollars from a treasury vault and also killed his partner. One of the criminals apparently is in England to buy fake diamonds, though they realize he must be coming by ship because he as of yet isn't in England.

The Scotland Yard inspector, McClaren, is working with Dennison on the case while also searching for Dr. Eric Miller, an atomic scientist who has disappeared. His daughter, who came to England to join her father, has a broach with phony diamonds, made by her father. So is he somehow involved with the thieves? This isn't a very interesting film until the end, where the location is an incredible castle. The whole end moves at a great pace, is suspenseful and atmospheric. I wish the whole movie had been that way. It's odd in the way it starts out as somewhat light, with both men competing for the missing man daughter's affections, and then has this big ending. Both lead actors, O'Keefe and Philip Friend (the inspector) are very charming.

The story is derivative, but I love the idea of the phony diamonds -- there are so many of these today, and they even mention Moissan, whose product, Moissanite is available (and expensive) today.

One of those chatty Brit crime films with American guest stars that's the cinema version of a comfortable sweater, a good a way as any to spend 84 minutes watching TV. The two best reasons to watch it: the end with a fight by a giant, futuristic looking electrical furnace belching flames and Margaret Sheridan doing justice to a tight sweater, speaking of sweaters. There's also a British policewoman who's very arresting.

The Diamond Wizard (1954)

A goofy, lighthearted, sprawling smuggling and international crime film. Yes, a contradiction. But boy are there zany aspects, like the low-tech high stakes attempts to make diamonds artificially. And the main characters are a British and an American agent both after the same charming American woman who is suddenly in town.

You might enjoy this as a spoof (which it is not), or as pure camp (which it almost is). There are false foreign accents, talking and reading from criminal files, and constant back and forths (with literal winking) between the two men, who seem to work well together by doing the same thing at the same time.

The odd thing is it's all kind of fun. It helps to have something else to do while watching--you won't miss any details, I think, since it putters along with easy to follow twists. The one scene to watch is the opening one, which gives away not only the very low budget limitations but also the basic characters involved. At other points there are little delights--like when the ship's whistle blows and we see the top of a ship, until the camera pulls back and you find we are looking at a model.

So, if you don't mind a little silly romp with lots of scenes and a fairly ambitious scope, but with a frivolous and frankly low quality aspect, you might just like this. It's not awful, which is something. Parts of it look like they were shot in Frankenstein's castle. And there is a really terrific escalator scene that is almost worth it right there, toward the end, better than the movie deserves. And what are "pure galvanized iron filings" you might ask?