Paul Temple Returns

With Scotland Yard puzzled by a serial killer, and with himself already being warned off by the perpetrating "Marquis", amateur sleuth "Paul Temple" (John Bentley) and his wife "Steve" (Patricia Dainton) are drafted in by "Sir Graham" (Peter Gawthorne) to help "Insp. Ross" (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) with the investigation. Pretty swiftly, with the body count starting to mount, they begin to become embroiled with the enigmatic Egyptologist "Sir Felix" (Christopher Lee), some ancient papyri and a vial of something mysterious. With no shortage of candidates and events become ever more menacing, the couple have to get their thinking caps on before their heads no longer need them. There's an amiable degree of chemistry between Bentley and Temple and with a few red herrings straddling their path, the mystery unfolds steadily for just over an hour of rope climbing, dark passages and burning hay bales. I didn't love the factotum "Sakki" (Dan Jackson) so much - a sort of Mantan Moreland without the mischief or the charm and the ending is all a bit rushed, but it's a passable afternoon watch for budding criminologists.

BBC radio made a serialize story, "Paul Temple Intervenes", and this film is based on this character. However, since only British audiences were familiar with it, the title "Paul Temple Returns" was changed to "Bombay Waterfront" for distribution in the United States.

Paul and his oddly named wife, Steve, are husband-wife crime fighters...sort of like a sober and less interesting version of Nick and Nora Charles. A person nicknamed 'The Marquise" is murdering people, and as that is rather nasty, the Temples decide to investigate.

There's nothing horrible about the film, though the end is weak. Otherwise, it's a typical B-sort of movie with the usual cliches. The worst cliches were at the end...where the killer is confronted by a group of folks...and they don't consider he might have a gun or might try to run. And, when Paul is battling the killer, his loyal wife just stands there and doesn't help. Perhaps the guy was heavily insured and Mrs. Temple was happy regardless who won the fight. All I know is that it's an agreeable time-passer, at best, and nothing more.

Dumb at end with gun and mrs. Temple then she just stands there.

The fourth and final adaptation of the Paul Temple radio plays, PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS sees the vacationing sleuth living up the high life in New York, where he now makes a living from his work as a crime writer. However, the powers that be call him back to Britain after a sinister figure known only as the Marquis begins to carve his way through the upper ranks of society.

It's a well paced, Edgar Wallace-style storyline and one that's a lot more fun than the last Paul Temple film I watched, SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE. The main character and his associate Steve remain a bit boring, but the supporting cast are better here, and overall the budget seems a bit bigger too. Certainly there are some strong moments in the murder scenes and an exciting rooftop atmosphere which is dripping with atmosphere.

The supporting cast also incorporates number of past and future horror greats, including the Man in Black himself, Valentine Dyall, as one of the policemen. Horror fans will be chiefly impressed by the inclusion of Christopher Lee in a sinister turn as one of the main suspects, a professor whose collection of Egyptian artifacts neatly precursors his later role as THE MUMMY. Robert Urquhart (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN) is here too as yet another suspect, and the dependable Ronald Leight-Hunt plays a copper.

The indefatigable Maclean Rogers directs John Bentley in their third movie about mystery writer and police consultant Paul Temple and his wife Steve, as played by Patricia Dainton. It's based on a radio play by series originator Francis Durdrige, Paul Temple Intervenes, broadcast in October and November of 1942. It seems some bad guy known as 'The Marquis' has been killing a bunch of people. Bentley and Dainton stick their noses in. Will they figure out who he is or will they get bumped off themselves? With both Valentine Dyall and Christopher Lee in the cast, there seems to be plenty of people to suspect.

It's a pretty good movie from Nettleford, with the leads looking like they're having fun. Longtime cameraman Geoffrey Failthfull does his usual competent job, demonstrating that despite short budgets, B movie producer Nettleford was capable of producing entertaining, if undemanding movies

This film, released in America as BOMBAY WATERFRONT, is the last of the four feature films made between 1946 and 1952 which were based upon the stories of Frances Durbridge and featured her character, the detective Paul Temple. Anthony Hulme played Temple in the first film (SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE, 1946, see my review) and John Bentley played the character in the succeeding three films, including this one. Temple's wife 'Steve' was played in succession by Joy Shelton, Dinah Sheridan (twice), and Patricia Dainton here. The third film in the series, PAUL TEMPLE'S TRIUMPH (1950) is unavailable, having never been released on video or DVD. The other three are readily available on DVD in digitally remastered form. CALLING PAUL TEMPLE (1948, see my review) is a rather limp and unsatisfactory film. This one is much better. The atmosphere is mysterious and effective, despite the low budget. John Bentley is an engaging, if somewhat lightweight, hero. One of the finest performances in the film is by the seventy-something Peter Gawthorne, as Sir Graham Forbes, the head of Scotland Yard. The young Robert Urquhart, later a fine actor, is strangely ineffectual here. Christopher Lee, who had already appeared in many films, does well as usual. This story is based on Durbridge's radio serial PAUL TEMPLE INTERVENES, which was broadcast on the BBC in 1952. The story concerns a series of mysterious murders of people who appear to have no connection with one another. But eventually the common thread is discovered to be a secret papyrus recently excavated in Egypt by the character played by Lee, which contains the antidote for all narcotic drugs, and could destroy the world narcotics cartels if it became known. The unknown killer calls himself 'The Marquess', though the reason for the name is never given. There are many candidates for 'The Marquess', and it is made as difficult as possible for us to guess his or her identity. The film is very entertaining if you like this kind of thing. There are numerous interesting shots of the London streets as they were in 1952, particularly at night.