Jigsaw

Writer/Director Val Guest had a Long and Varied Career. A Low-Budget Filmmaker that always tried to make His Films look Professional and was Not Afraid to Improvise and Loved Playing with the Tools of Cinema.

His most Successful Films Critically were done for Hammer Studios in the Sci-Fi Genre. Here He made a "Police Procedural" and in the True Definition of the Genre. It is Nothing More than that and that's Exactly what it is and it Never Strays from Format.

What Guest does to make it seem More than that, is the Pacing. It has a Frenetic Style of Rapid Dialog and Quick Moving Scenes. No Passage of Banter or Anything is wasted. It's Economically Energetic and has a Sense of Urgency befitting the Lack of Clues, and the Legwork, and Heavy Lifting needed to Piece Together this "Jigsaw".

The Movie is a bit Long but Never Seems Dull or Boring. Helped by one of England's Actor Icons Jack Warner, who made His Name doing exactly what He is doing here. Solving Crimes on the Telly.

Worth a Watch for Val Guest's Intense Crafting, Jack Warner as an Aging and Cynical Policeman, and for its Crackerjack Plot. You have No Clue throughout what Prize Piece of the Puzzle will Pop Up or When.

brilliant atmospheric film set on the Brighton coast in 1962. Jack Warner (66 years of age in real life) is the slightly caustic but nevertheless kindly commanding officer who runs the investigation. Great support from Ronald Lewis and a dazzling role from Michael Goodliffe(spooky to think that they both committed suicide in reality).See if you can spot the killer before Jack, believe me it is a shocker. Also there is a nice little twist at the end. The cast is top notch and there is a general seediness at the locations that the Brighton tourist board must have had concerns about.For a taut procedural police study this film is right at the top of the tree matched only by the Long Arm(Jack Hawkins) an absolute corker of a film and thanks to Nigel for providing me with a DVD of this film. This film is a must see.

British actor Michael Caine once complained that many of the movies his country made were not "moving pictures", and instead were often more or less "illustrated radio" productions. To some degree, this applies to this movie. "Jigsaw" is a very talky movie, with no real action at any point, with the results being a script that wouldn't need much change to make it suitable for the radio. And as a result, the movie is sometimes dry enough that viewers may really be wishing for a little excitement.

However, despite the overly talky script, the movie still has some interest. It does accurately illustrate that murder investigations in real life are usually not exciting and involve a lot of hard and boring work. The various ways the police in the movie investigate without modern day techniques such as computers and DNA are interesting at times. And the movie's frankness concerning pre- marital sex - which you wouldn't get in a Hollywood movie of this period - is interesting. Viewers who are in a patient mood will probably find this movie interesting enough.

Despite the presence of Jack Warner as a senior policeman, the world of "Jigsaw" is a far cry from the cosy atmosphere of "Dixon of Dock Green". Effective camerawork makes Brighton a faintly sinister setting for this murder mystery. The standard of acting is generally high, (although I found Yolande Donlan's performance a little overwrought for my taste) and a strong script from Guest ensures that the detailed police investigation contains enough action (and unexpected revelations) to hold the viewer's interest to the very end.

I was drawn straight into this film from the opening scenes and I never lost concentration once. Furthermore I didn't manage to guess the final outcome. A very intriguing police investigation and very well acted by all involved. Films of this nature can only be enjoyed once. I am glad I took the time to watch it.