Account Rendered

This film was shot around Hampstead Heath.There is a glimpse of Hampstead police station.The film works as a whodunit because nearly everyone seems to have a motive to kill the victim.Though it has to be said that Griffith Jones is quids in.Losing a hated wife and gaining the delectable Honor Blackman who would go on to far better films than this.

This strangely short murder-mystery is a good reminder of why the English film industry was so strong during this period.

The cast of relative unknowns (with the exception of a young Honor Blackman) deliver a tight story in a precise way. The sub texts of the story are not laboured, creating an involving story.

It's worth the time.

When a wealthy woman with a closet full of skeletons is murdered, there are no shortage of suspects. From a jealous husband to secret lovers, Lucille Ainsworth's death leaves the police with several paths they'll need to go down to find the killer.

Overall, Account Rendered is a decent little British mystery, but doesn't have enough gong for it to call it much more than average. While several plot twists work quite well, there are instances where the film can get a bit dull. It's all filmed in a matter-of-fact style that, while efficient, doesn't allow for much story or character development. It may have been a product of the film's age or the transfer I watched, but it's not a very good looking movie either. Drab would be the word I'd use to describe it. The movie was released in 1957 , but it looks more like 1937. Finally, Account Rendered ends with a satisfactory conclusion, which is always nice in a mystery.

Just as I described the film, I'd also call the film's group of unknown actors (well, unknown to me) "efficient". The only real name in the cast is Honor Blackman. She does fine in a small role. The standout performance is Ewen Solon as Inspector Marshall. He easily brings the most life to the proceedings.

5/10.

A pretty run-of-the-mill, but yet still reasonably entertaining British murder mystery, there are a few well-done bits, but not quite enough for them to really be notable. The characters, the acting and the story never rise above the ordinary, however it can at least be said that they never fall below the mark either. The special weather effects for lightning, achieved by scratching actual film, are a sight to see, even if they look quite fake. There is not much else to strongly recommend this early English film on, but if comes to television, it is perhaps worth a look. Honor Blackman would, of course, later go on to be Pussy Galore.

This is a brilliant thriller on a small scale, the restricted format of less than 80 minutes comprising a considerable mess of intrigues, as this wife already from the beginning shamelessly confesses to her infidelity, while her husband receives an alarming note which we are never initiated in, there is a reckless artist involved also who gets mixed up in some fights, and there is extortion and embezzlement, all in a wonderful complex of a mystery where everyone could be guilty wile they all are proved innocent by alibis. Honor Blackman is the leading actress here, not far from a Lizabeth Scott character, while the fast action makes it difficult for all the men involved to catch on, but it all makes sense in the end with great satisfaction to the audience after a Hitchcockian train finale.