The Vicious Circle

This interesting - if flawed - Hitchcock wannabe, unexpectedly delights in the period snapshots of London circa 1957/8. The embankment / London Zoo / 'London Airport', together with lots of cigarettes and social etiquette. Mills is accomplished in the role of the consultant/surgeon thrown into a game of 'cat and mouse', even if the dénouement is a little corny.

In addition to the cameos by Lionel Jeffries, and a relatively young Wilfred Hyde-White, Roland Culver cuts a familiar, yet enigmatic, figure as the all-seeing, all-knowing Inspector - far better than many similar roles in some Hitchcock thrillers.

John Mills stars in "The Vicious Circle" from 1957, also featuring Derek Farr, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Noelle Middleton, Roland Culver, and Lionel Jeffries.

Doctor Howard Latimer (John Mills) agrees to do a last-minute favor for a producer friend. He's to pick up a German actress at the airport. At the time of the call, a reporter (Jeffries) is in his office attempting to interview him.

When the reporter learns that the doctor has to leave, he volunteers to drive him to the airport. As they come back into the city, Howard asks to be let out of the car, as he has a date.

When he arrives home, the German film star is dead on his floor. Thus the nightmare begins. He can't find the reporter, a patient of another doctor who was sent to him tells him a story and then denies it later, he's approached by a strange man who has a photo of him at the airport that he's willing to trade, his apartment is ransacked, and then there's another death. He has a confrontation with his girlfriend (Middleton), and she nearly dumps him.

In other words, his life is a Kafkian nightmare. Running away doesn't help. He soon is plunged into the world of Scotland Yard, a search for a mysterious criminal, and blackmail.

Entertaining film, nice London locations, good performances.

This is a plot driven movie and extremely entertaining. Nothing startling or original within the plot, but crucially, it moves along at a great pace and therefore keeps your attention. I didn't really notice the acting which I guess is a good thing. John Mills was fine but did seem to take everything in his stride somewhat considering how his life was falling apart around him. He would be clumped on the head, stand up 20 seconds later, dust himself down and carry on as if nothing had happened. A minor quibble in a film with a strong story, authentic locations and a plot that continually keeps you guessing right up to its conclusion.

"The Vicious Circle" is a very unknown British mystery story. Like many Hitchcock movies, it's about a man who is being accused of a crime he didn't commit, and does everything he can to prove it. This time it's a Dr. Latimer (John Mills), who finds a murdered German actress from his floor. As an honest man, the doctor calls Scotland Yard, which turns out to be a big mistake...

There's really nothing special in this little movie. Still, watching the film is an entertaining way to pass time. I enjoyed following the plot development. Fine actors are a plus.

I found this a good, solid little mystery that could probably have been somewhat better had more imaginative forces been brought to bear on the story and filming. The one thing that is pretty much perfect about it is the acting, with just about everybody in it performing at peak efficiency when considering what they've got to work with. A couple of reviewers found John Mills a bit too straight or severe in his character's acceptance of the very strange things that are happening in his world, one remarking that Cary Grant did this kind of thing better for Hitchcock because Grant is an Everyman and Mills is not. I would have reversed that in a nanosecond. Until the Tom Courtenays of the world came along, Mills was about as much of an Everyman as the British Cinema could produce, and anybody who thinks of Cary Grant as an Everyman has a very elevated opinion of Man! Anyway, the Ambleresque premise and happenings in this film might have been better managed by Agatha Christie, who would at least have provided a better denouement than we get here. The one given here is pretty acceptable, but in no way special. Still, it makes sense, and that is as much as we can expect from most mystery stories. The film does hold the attention, because although we know that Mills is the victim of some nefarious plot (mainly because we are always with him and learn of each succeeding mysterious element at the same time as he does), the puzzle that is set up is really quite bizarre and we can't imagine how it will be explained away. It is, and acceptably so, but Christie would have had our jaws dropping as explanations poured forth. The film is held up and made excellent by the quality of the acting. There are no weak links in that regard, and Mills is supported admirably by Derek Farr, Roland Culver, Mervyn Johns, Lionel Jeffries and Wilfred Hyde-White (especially by the latter), and on the distaff side, just as excellently by Noelle Middleton as his fiancée and the always-admirable Rene Ray as a mysterious and somewhat duplicitous woman involved in causing Mills's problems. I might add that I was previously unfamiliar with Ms. Middleton, and she seemed to me totally first-rate, beautiful and downright classy throughout. I really must see more of her. (Ah, how I miss the 1950s!) Anyway, a solid Mills effort, and if not as excellent as some of his other films, that may just be an over-critical evaluation based on the extraordinary excellence of the film work he gave us over some 70 years of practicing his craft!