The Third Clue

The film opens at the vast estate of Mark Clayton (Ian Fleming), where he is being held captive by a group of East Indian bandits. They claim that the jewels in Clayton's possession belong to their country and they want Clayton to turn them over to them. Since the bandits have already murdered his wife, Clayton is not willing to play their game. The decision costs Clayton his life. With his dying breath he asks his brother, Rupert, to give the jewels to his son. Rupert vows to do so.

But there is a problem at hand for Rupert. His dead brother hid the jewels somewhere on the vast estate and no one knows where they are located. Mark gave Rupert a clue to their whereabouts, but the clue only puzzles him. Enter Reinhardt Conway (Basil Sydney), who is secretly working for the East Indian bandits. Conway's plan is to infiltrate the estate under some disguise and search for the jewels himself.

I love these old British mysteries. This film is not a masterpiece by any stretch but it is entertaining and with a run time of 72 minutes it is longer than many of the Quota pictures from this period. If you are a fan of films like, Riverside Murder (1935); Inside the Room (1935); Late Extra (1935), then you will surely enjoy this.

Maybe it was in part because I didn't see a good print of this movie that I found it so draggy. But maybe also it was that the plot is overly convoluted with so many characters flitting about that it was hard to keep track of them all. And way too many of the scenes are in the dark with just a flashlight or low output lamps shedding any light. Old dark house mystery indeed. After Mark Clayton (Ian Flemming) is murdered, the search is on for the East Indian jewels he has hidden in the house. Assault after assault occurs - that house is a dangerous place to be. Basil Sydney and Molly Lamont did a nice job in their roles but unless one is a big fan of 1930s or Dark House type mysteries, there's not a lot to recommend about this movie. Watchable but soon forgettable.