The Floating Dutchman

This is a swift and straightforward crime thriller, adapted from a novel by Nicholas Bentley. When a corpse turns up in the Thames, it turns out to be the eponymous Dutchman. Scotland Yard figures it links to Sidney Tafter, a nightclub owner and suspected jewel thief, so they send in Dermot Walsh undercover to join his gang, which he does in jig time, while romancing hostess Mary Germaine.

It all moves ahead at a good clip thanks to a script and direction by Vernon Sewell, and there is a bit of excitement towards the end. One peculiarity are a couple of character names, doubtless borrowed from the novel: Miss Germain's character is named Rose Reid... and Tafter's chief henchman is called Snow White. Given Bentley's sideline in cartooning -- he is best known for his illustrations to T.S. Elliot's OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS, this was probably a theme of his.

I agree with the IMDb user rating which when I looked was 5.3.I awarded this film 5/10 as the star was Sydney Tafler (who is normally just a support character actor in 1950s dramas) and whose best role, in my book, was playing the chief orthopaedic physiotherapist in "Reach for the Sky" (1956), fitting on Douglas Bader's artificial legs!I imagine "The Floating Dutchman" was a "B" feature in the British cinemas of the 1950s.The whole production smacks of low budget and I did not recognise any other actor save for the short man running the bookshop, who briefly appeared in "Quiet Wedding (1940)" saying "Anybodys please" at the railway station magazine stall.

I agree with the other user above from France in his preferred choice of directors.My favourite on his list is Lance Comfort whose film "Bedelia" (1946) stars on of my favourites, Margaret Lockwood.

Even by the standards of Merton Park this is a very routine thriller.Dermot Walsh is an undercover policeman who worms his way into a diamond smuggling gang by falsifying a prison record.Sydney Tafler,as usual plays on the wrong side of the law is caught by the police and manages to escape by asking for a glass of water.It is quite laughable.The finale such as it is mainly takes place in the dark,so you don't actually know what has happened till someone turns on the light switch.The problem is that plot is so routine that you just give up the ghost long before the end credits roll.Such a surprise when someone as experienced is the director.

I was astonished to see that this mediocre ( in plainer words bad ) film was reissued in the cinemas in 1958 after its initial showing in 1952. Was British cinema so poor that it had to inflict this again upon audiences ? A question worth pondering over. The story is the usual trafficking among criminals of questionable goods, and the cast does its best with static direction, appallingly shoddy sets and a few London scenes which tried to show the film was alive. Like the floating Dutchman of the title this ' cinematic experience ' is dead in the water. Women are termed as ' girls ' and I felt sorry for the one good actor in the cast Mary Germaine, who looked as if she could do much better than this and she deserves the 1 very reluctantly given. Sadly the cinema of this period in the UK almost entirely dismissed good women actors for stale men. To sum up; a typical example of redundant film. As for the audiences they went to this sort of drivel and accepted the bad experience.

.... For a 68yo movie this is a great watch. Black and white Pommie gold! If this amount of talent and skill were put into a modern movie today it would take hundreds of millions at the box office. I know old movies are not everyones cup of tea but if you do enjoy a good one, watch this. I have it recorded and will put it away for a year and watch again. 8out of 10 _ _ (One extra star given for its age)