Late Night Final

Edgar Lustgarten tells an intriguing story of a missing newspaper seller who had witnessed an warehouse raid.

Joe was the elderly newspaper seller with a dodgy leg and some underworld connections. At an identity parade he keeps his silence and promptly disappears.

The police fear that some harm has come to Joe. They go inside his flat which has been ransacked but they find a suitcase with some smart clothes in it. No the kind Joe wore.

Later a body is found in the marshes but it is not Joe but a younger man, with two good legs.

A laundry van with bloodstains leads the police to make a connection between Joe and the dead man. It also leads them to apprehend the murderer.

A narrative flashback is used to explain what really happened. Colin Tapley is rather plain as Inspector Turner and the overall short is rather bland when it could had been more darker and dramatic. It might be due to censorship laws.

It was fun spotting a young James Villiers.

Elderly, disabled newspaper seller, Joe Burrage, disappears after witnessing a raid on a warehouse. Joe refuses to talk to Thr Police, but when he vanishes, Inspector Turner suspects foul play

More going on here than first appears, it's slow to start, but develops well, and features a rather unexpected, and well conceived twist.

Very much in the noir style once again, it even has that wonderfully dramatic, accompanying music too, it really does add a sense of drama. The rooftop punch up and subsequently chase scenes look great.

Worth watching to see a young James Villiers, in his first ever acting role, here he appears as the young lab technician, who identified the innocuous white powder, he isn't credited.

Edgar Lustgarten as always adds to the sense of mystery and intrigue.

7/10.