Uneasy Terms

This film was criticized both on its release and more recent reviews as a misguided British attempt to imitate American 'Noir' movies of the time. In fact it is unusual in closely following the narrative of Peter Cheyney's best-selling novel of the same title and replicates the particular world found in his books, all hugely successful in their day. It was a world of private eyes with a strong American influence, solving cases of blackmail and murder among England's wealthier classes, a world often reflected in British crime movies of the time. A typical Cheyney often featured a manor house and two or three attractive, beautifully attired women, one of whom would be a villain, and at least one who would fall in love with the hero. Here there are frequent references to a Miss Vendayne, the heroine of a previous Callaghan adventure. Cheyney took a keen interest in the film and a photo of him on set with Michael Rennie and Moira Lister was reproduced on the back of his next book. To complete the connection there is a glimpse of the cover of Uneasy Terms at the start of the credits.

It is interesting to compare Rennie's version of Callaghan with that of Derrick De Marney who played the role on stage and screen in Meet Mr Callaghan. The latter brought out the rather cynical and charmless nature of a man who was not above beating up suspects and planting evidence, but Rennie resembles more the physical appearance of the character and gives him a more appealing nature altogether. Also here is Callaghan's adoring secretary Effie (Joy Shelton) whom has to make do with the constant attention of his Canadian sidekick Windermere 'Windy' Nichols, an early role for Paul Carpenter. Faith Brook and Moira Lister are ideal as the two sisters with several skeletons in the closet while Barry Jones is Det. Insp. Gringall, the Scotland Yard man who profits from turning a blind eye to Callaghan's activities

I think this the better of the two British Callaghan features - several more were later made in France - and having not been shown since the 1970's it was good to see its return on Talking Pictures yesterday. Anyone interested in British films of the Forties, or is interested in Cheyney should enjoy it.

Before Willy Rozier got his hands on him, Grand National in Britain produced one film based on Peter Cheyney's Slim Callaghan, with Michael Rennie in the lead. In this one, Roy Russell asks Rennie to come to his country home to discuss a job. His stepdaughters have him worried. But when Rennie shows up, Russell is dead, and eventually all the women in the household -- widow and both daughters -- want him working particularly for her.

It's a good, strong mystery that I was able to partially solve, but not fully, and under the direction of Vernon Sewell, the mystery is given full rein to work out in all its confusing details. As a result, however, the characters and the non-mystery elements are rather constricted, even given the 90-minute length of the movie. Still, everyone works their own little melodramatic stereotype fully. With Joy Shelton, Paul Carpenter, Nigel Patrick, and Sidney Tafler.

Pete Cheyney's private eye Slim Callaghan makes his first appearance in the urbane form of Michael Rennie as his path crosses that of youthful versions of Moira Lister, Faith Brook, Nigel Patrick, Paul Carpenter and Sydney Tafler in this genteel British attempt at the hard-boiled Hollywood gumshoe dramas of the forties.

This also proved the last gasp of Louis H. Jackson as head of production of British National Pictures, which went bankrupt the year this was released.

In the late forties the screen was flooded with private eye films ,particularly from America,They starred the likes of Humphrey Bogart,Robert Mitchum,Robert Montgomery and Dick Powell and were written by Raymond Chandler and his contemporaries.Here we have to make do with Michael Rennie and Paul Carpenter and their mid Atlantic accents.The plot revolves around a will.The Colonel has provided that if any of his daughters marries she will forfeit her share of the estate.Of course one has and she is being blackmailed.However ,as a lawyer,i would be bound to say that such a will would be unenforceable at law so the main point of the plot collapses in an instant.We have a poor imitation of the dialogue you would expect from an American film.There is a fight toward the end which is conducted using judo and looks rather strange.Even Nigel Patrick,such a reliable villain ,is subdued here.

"Slim Callaghan" (Michael Rennie) is a PI with an habit of solving crimes using such unconventional methods as to annoy the police almost as much as he does the criminals. When a young woman drugs his Scotch at a night club, just as a would-be client tries to call him; then that same gent shakes off his mortal coil very shortly afterwards, his interest is well and truly piqued. Despite the protestations of one of the deceased man's three daughters, he heads to their home to investigate. Moira Lister, Faith Brook and Patricia Goddard play the daughters trying to manipulate the old man's will and one (or more) might be in cahoots with the dastardly Nigel Patrick ("Lucien"). The story is just too busy - too many threads that are only superficially developed and Nigel Patrick doesn't really quite fit his billing either. At times the narrative made me think I was listening to a radio play with pictures as there is a great deal of dialogue, and very little action until quite near the end when some of the duplicitous undercurrents come to the surface. The story is sound enough, but the film is just too stodgily delivered to remain engaging.