The Man Who Finally Died

Not only is THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED the second movie where Niall MacGinnis has a gun drawn on a train during the climax following CURSE OF THE DEMON, but THE THIRD MAN has been knocked-off once again...

And this time... despite a horribly intrusive, melodramatic harpsichord hammering like lightning following a horror film revelation... it's a pretty good effort as former German child now adult British citizen/jazz pianist Stanley Baker returns to Germany after getting a mysterious call about his father, who he thought was dead twenty-years ago, and is now dead again, only it happened a week earlier...

And as this effective mystery thriller progresses, the dad, like Orson Welles's Harry Lime, could have been involved in some bad things, covered up by a doctor played by Peter Cushing (protecting widow Mai Zetterling and directed by Hammer's Quentin Lawrence, and having co-starred with Baker in VIOLENT PLAYGROUND), while also helping gorgeous ingenue Georgina Ward, whose father was buried in the same grave that, well...

There are too many twists to count or spoil, but Baker, donning Ray Charles-like sunglasses even indoors, goes from place to place in his usual strongarm, no-nonsense fashion, only a bit more vulnerable, and deliberately confused, like the audience.

This is for the most part an absorbing mystery, one of those where by no means all of the individuals are whom they appear to be. There's a strong cast of British character actors with Niall MacGinnis especially effective as a rather unorthodox insurance investigator. The film loses points by being needlessly confusing with over-reliance on the dialogue at certain stages, and if you're not paying close attention to every word at these times, the leisurely developed narrative will remain somewhat obscure. In particular the scene where Georgina Ward's Maria is introduced (together with the business regarding her late father) should have been presented with greater clarity.

Many, if not most, of the reviews I encounter here state that "The Man Who Finally Died" is heavily influenced by - or even blatantly imitating - the Orson Welles' classic "The Third Man". Maybe so, but I haven't seen that one (yet) and therefore cannot judge. What I can say, however, is that the plot is great and incredibly absorbing, regardless of which film brought it first, and that this isn't a low-keyed type of rip-off but a stylish and polished British 60s effort with more than adequate production values and ditto acting performances.

As a young boy, John Newman (born: Joachim Deutsch) fled from Nazi-Germany to England with his mother, and always assumed his father died in the War. 20 years later, he receives an anonymous call from Bavaria stating his father still alive, but when he arrives there, John learns - via his young stepmother he didn't knew existed - that his father passed away just a week ago from a stroke. Other people tell him his father died two years ago, and lots of other contradictions. When did Kurt Deutsch die? 20 years ago, 2 years ago, or just the week before? Or perhaps he's still alive, even? And since everybody is so reluctant to help or even inform John, who called and lured him to Bavaria?

As you can tell, "The Man Who Finally Died" is a convoluted puzzle that requires full, constant, and devoted attention in order not to miss the tiniest clue or detail. It's extremely compelling, though, with a couple of ingenious and unforeseeable twists and broodingly uncanny atmosphere. The Bavaria settings and post-WWII references are excellent, and of course it's always a delight to watch fantastic British actors like Peter Cushing and Nigel Green. Lead star Stanley Baker certainly isn't my favorite performer, and quite often he looks very silly in this film, what with his unnecessary sunglasses and he's constant "I-don't-have-a-clue-what's-happening-here" facial expressions.

THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED is an early '60s black-and-white conspiracy thriller with enough twists to make even M. Night Shyamalan blush and a great cast of British character actors. Along with underrated leading man Stanley Baker and a typically villainous Peter Cushing, we're graced with the presence of NIGHT OF THE DEMON's Niall MacGinnis, Inspector Nayland Smith himself, Nigel Green, and plenty of others who round out various roles: tough cops, pompous officials, friendly advisers, and the like.

The film itself is one of those 'small town conspiracy' movies where it seems that everyone's in on some secret, apart from the lead of course. This generates plenty of suspense and although the film is rather dated when viewed in a modern light – cosy rather than dangerous – it proves more than adequate entertainment. It also possesses at least one twist I didn't see coming in advance, so there's kudos for that.

The film is a little slow and stodgy in places. It feels like a Bond film on occasion, with Baker arriving in an exotic (well, Germany) destination and attempting to uncover the secrets involving some evil criminal mastermind. The eventual solving of the crime ties into the Cold War in a nicely unexpected way. Yes, I could have done with some more action, some more open peril – the movie's premise is perfect for the odd chase scene, for instance – but it's hard to fault or be too hard on an efficient little thriller like this.

This started really well and up until about halfway I was totally involved and enjoying trying to work out, as was Stanley Baker's character, just what was going on. But then around the time we visit a cemetery and there is much discussion about whether or not a body should be interred, I begin to lose it.

I think in a similarly confusing giallo there would be much more vivid and colourful aspects to maintain an interest that here just waned. It ends well enough and Baker is at his very best here although I thought Cushing only just held his end up. Mai Zetterling was wasted in a lousy role.