The Girl in the Picture

A 4 year-old photograph published in the London Evening Echo provides a clue to an unsolved murder - intrepid reporter Deering (Donald Houston) and Inspector Bliss (Partick Holt) are soon hot on the trail of the 'Girl in the Picture'! Surprisingly good little mystery from the days when you got your money's worth at the pictures (supporting features, etc.!).

Check out the bespectacled office boy, Wilfred - he's credited as David Greeves, but is better known as James Booth, probably world famous for his excellent portrayal of Henry Hook in 'Zulu'.

Sadly, James Booth passed away in August 2005.

THE GIRL IN THE PICTURE is your usual quota picture, a British crime thriller about a crusading journalist who's hunting down a pretty girl seen in an old photograph. The twist is that in said photo she's seen waving to the driver of a car later linked to an unsolved murder, so by tracking her down he hopes to find the murderer himself.

There are good and bad things about this movie. Donald Houston is a rather poor and uninteresting choice of lead, but Patrick Holt in support is much better as the wry detective. The lovely Junia Crawford had a brief B-movie career in the late 1950s before dying young. There are a handful of scene-setting moments that ably bring the 1950s to life, but Don Chaffey, who later directed JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, does a strictly pedestrian job and can't seem to work up much steam. The villain is a weak and non-threatening one too. Scriptwriter Paul Ryder's best work was in the Stanley Baker heist thriller, A PRIZE OF ARMS.

Newspaperman Donald Houston takes another look at a picture of a robbery gone wrong. There's a girl waving at someone in the getaway car. He goes in search of Junia Crawford, while Detective Inspector Patrick Holt smells his own boutoniere, waiitng for something to turn up.

It's a nice case of the newspaperman out-detectives the police, and doesn't quite get it right. There's nothing extraordinary here, but everything is done just about right, with a nice role for Paddy Joyce as the boy she left behind. The final do-up is well shot and edited, showing that a decent script, and decent work in all departments produce a good movie.

Four years ago, a robbery went wrong resulting in a policeman being murdered and the killers escaped. However, a photograph turns up on news reporter Jon Deering's (Houston) desk. It shows the getaway car and a woman looking into it. Believing this woman holds the key to the case, Deering sets off to find her... unfortunately, in his investigations, he tips off the robbers, who then start a search, though be it more deadly, for the girl in the picture... Pat Dryden (Crawford)

I do like this as a premise for a story, however, I don't think all the possibilities were utilised well. This could have been a cat and mouse stalking game, what with the police, the reporter, and the bad guys tracking her down. However, the police don't get involved too much and the murderers are hanging on the reporter's coattails. This has the effect of making it less suspense-filled than it could have been?

The story and the acting are enough to make this an enjoyable one watch flick, though I would warn about the soundtrack. It's your basic standard full orchestration, but when you get to the climax the director decides to use the music to jar your nerves... and turns the volume up. This mixed with the old-fashioned police bells and sirens is enough to drive you mad. As for the direction, it's okay, there's nothing innovative in the camera work and the pace stays pretty steady throughout. Changing these would have helped to create a better atmosphere and tenseness to draw the viewer in.

The acting is pretty good and both Houston and Crawford do well in their roles. That said, there are moments when it gets a little melodramatic and the acting begins to feel a little hammy. Though these are few and have little effect on the film or story.

The one thing I did like about the story was the lack of a love interest. In most films, this is a must, even when it's not required and sometimes it even feels awkward. But there's nothing between Dryden and Deering, they are merely an eyewitness and a reporter. It was a refreshing change not to have the fawning doting of screen romance.

Though it's not the best thriller of its time it's still worth a checkout.

Interesting not only for the shots of late fifties Hammersmith (News Of The World - Players' Weights) but also for the following;- 1) Paddy Joyce (as garage-owner Jack Bates - nice Dublin accent, by the way), was actually the nephew of James Joyce!

2) Tom Chatto (George Keefe, the murdered cop's brother) was the father-in-law of Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones - the niece of the Queen!

(He's also a descendant of the Chatto of publishers Chatto & Windus fame).

Nice to imagine the two actors attempting to out-relly each other during a break in filming. (For my money, Paddy's got the top trump!)

A quota-quickie from the 50s with intriguingly unexpected connections.

Feel free to amaze your friends with that one...