Un croque-mort trop curieux

Titre original : A Matter of WHO

1961
Not Rated
1h 30min

NOTE IMDb

MA NOTE

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueA man's death of smallpox at London airport sends officials into a panic as they conduct a frantic search for the carrier.A man's death of smallpox at London airport sends officials into a panic as they conduct a frantic search for the carrier.A man's death of smallpox at London airport sends officials into a panic as they conduct a frantic search for the carrier.

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

NOTE IMDb

6,2/10

201

MA NOTE

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

Photos10

+ 4

Avis des utilisateurs13

6,2201

Avis à la une

8busterm

Cleverly written international thriller that combines humor and suspense.

I haven't seen this movie since it came out in the early 60's, but I've always remembered it as refreshingly unusual, with Terry Thomas as an employee of the World Health Organization who is trying to track down the source of a small, puzzling epidemic of smallpox. He is almost thwarted by big oil money, secrecy, and efforts to cover up criminal acts. (I'm going to see it again soon, however - I found it for sale at CINEMAWEB. If my opinion changes after I've seen it again, I'll change my comments, if your site will allow that.)

8planktonrules

An enjoyable but unusual combination of drama, detective work and comedy!

unusual role for Terry-Thomas smallpox chimp butler death--hidden cause

When I saw that this movie was about the World Health Organization and infectious diseases, I was surprised, as it stars Terry- Thomas...a man known for his roles in comedies! Regardless, it's a darn fine movie...and does have some comedic aspects.

When the film begins, an airliner contacts the tower. Apparently someone aboard is VERY sick and since the plane is coming from overseas, the World Health Organization representative, Archibald Bannister (Terry-Thomas) springs into action to determine if the disease is dangerous and if there is need to panic. Well, the illness turns out to be Smallpox...and it's a matter of time that they discover others infected or bodies could begin piling up! And, eventually, their quest to find the infected even involves stealing a corpse!

The film has great characters and an intelligent script. It's an unusual blend of drama, detective work and even a bit of comedy...and it works well.

8boblipton

Terry-Thomas Is a Breath Of Fresh Air In A Fine Medical Mystery

An oil geologist is returning to England with his bride, Sonja Ziemann. He collapses on the plane, and the wheels of the airline's health services creak slowly into action. It's smallpox! This makes it a matter for the World Health Organization, and their crack London investigator: Terry-Thomas?

Yes, it's Terry-Thomas, and it's a serious movie, as he investigates with the geologist's partner, Alex Nicol. The trail is a complicated one, involving a Russian plutocrat, a yacht in Nice, a plane crash in Switzerland, and two other smallpox victims in Europe who seem to have no connection to Miss Ziemann's husband. Nicol is suspicious of Miss Ziemann. What is she doing with his partner, a man he describes as "wet behind the ears when it comes to women"?

It's not entirely a mystery. Terry-Thomas is what one might describe as an eccentric bureaucrat and keeps things light and informative. It's a good mystery, too, as I settled on what turned out to be a red herring.

7MovieStakes

A light-hearted contagion

A matter of WHO (1961)

This is an old British comedy with a very in-vogue theme - tracing a contagion. When an American and his wife land in London from a middle east country, he turns sick in flight. A WHO scientist Archibald (Terry Thomas) takes the over the investigation as the illness proves to be a deadly contagion and goes full on trying to trace its origin. The American's partner Kennedy (Alex Nicol) joins him in the search as he suspects there was something fishy in the failed oil exploration expedition from which his friend has just returned. The two are thrown together in the chase, each with an entirely different agenda. An important enigma in the entire episode is Cooper's wife and her link with a suspicious millioner. The search for the source of infection and that of the mystery of the failed oil exploration runs parallel. Although the subject matter is serious, the treatment is entirely comic, hilarious in many places and also maintains enough seriousness making it an enjoyable suspense thriller.

9JLRMovieReviews

WHO? The Inimitable Terry-Thomas.

Terry-Thomas works for WHO. WHO? Yes, WHO. The World Health Organization. He is to find out how an airline passenger had been infected with the smallpox and to root out the possibility of it spreading to others. Who did the gentleman come into contact with, and where had he been? He was traveling with his five-week newlywed wife, and his partner in business, played by Alex Nicol, was to meet him at the airport. But he was transported to the airport hospital, after falling ill. Yes, you heard right - the airport hospital. They have a rather good one. Shirley Eaton, James Bond's "Goldfinger" girl, has a small role, but Terry-Thomas is the whole show with his debonair and charming disposition and wits in getting at the truth. It gets really complicated and involved, but it's so rewarding and funny, especially nearer the end of the film, as he resorts to unscrupulous means for an autopsy. For those WHO love Terry-Thomas and British comedies, I would also recommend "School for Scoundrels," but, as the business here is to say something about WHO, I will simply say it's Terry-Thomas at his dashing best, without the presence of Peter Sellers or anyone else stealing the attention away from one of British film's greatest personalities, Mr. Terry-Thomas. Did I mention the star of the movie is uh, Terry-Thomas?

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Histoire

Modifier

Le saviez-vous

Modifier

Anecdotes
Richard Briers receives an "introducing" credit

Gaffes
At 42 minutes, when the taxi driver hand signals Terry-Thomas to overtake him, TT's car still has the camera used for the through -the-windscreen shots attached to the bonnet.

Citations
Sister Bryan: Oh yes, Mr Kennedy, I'm sorry but the passenger you're meeting is ill. He'll be brought here as soon as the plane has landed.
Kennedy: Sick? What's wrong with him?
Sister Bryan: I can't say.
Kennedy: You mean you don't know or you won't tell me?
Sister Bryan: Well...
Archibald Bannister: A matter of policy, my dear Sir. Aircrew are discouraged from making medical diagnoses. For example, only last week we were alerted that a foreign passenger, a plumpish woman, was suffering from severe cramp and to have a stomach pump at the ready. An hour after the plane landed she gave birth to twins. Most embarrassing, but there you are.
Kennedy: I'm no doctor but I don't think he's having twins.
Archibald Bannister: Hmm. Touché, Mr Kennedy. It appears that your friend has collapsed.
Kennedy: Collapsed?
Archibald Bannister: Well, er, drunk.
Kennedy: Are we talking about the same guy?
Archibald Bannister: Steven Cooper, an American.
Kennedy: That doesn't make sense. Cooper's been my partner for twelve years. He's strictly a milk drinker.
Archibald Bannister: Well, there's our aeroplane. We'll soon get a doctor's opinion. Maybe he can make sense...
Kennedy: What are you selling?
Archibald Bannister: Hm? Oh, nothing. I'm a detective. But not for Scotland Yard. My criminals are far more dangerous than human beings. Dainty, little killers.
[he points to a map of the world]
Archibald Bannister: White for cholera, red for small pox, black for plague. The pins mark the scene of the crime.
Archibald Bannister: Would it surprise you to know that if World Health Regulations were relaxed for even a month, we'd be ridden by plagues that would put the Middle Ages to Shame? 'Course it would.
Archibald Bannister: Germs are much smarter than people. They never bother with passports or borders. They know it's one world, even if we don't.
Kennedy: Bully for them.

Connexions
Referenced in Un coin de ciel bleu (1965)

Bandes originales
A Matter of Who
Words and Music by Bob Russell
Sung by Roy Castle over main title
Performed in nightclub scene by The John Barry Seven (uncredited)
and arranged by John Barry (uncredited)