The Narrowing Circle

Continuing my viewing of B films made as time fillers for the main A film in the UK in the 1950's and 1960's I discovered this good one from 1956. Despite what has been called poverty row conditions some of them transcend these so-called conditions and briefly ' The Price of Silence (1966), ' Burnt Evidence ' (1954) and this one are so far the best. No doubt more will follow. In ' The Narrowing Circle ' any faults in direction or camera work, or ill-judged details, cannot hide the fact that the two leads Paul Carpenter and Hazel Court give first rate performances. Both characters work in a publishing house for crime, and find themselves involved in a series of murders that appear to stem from the house itself. Together they go to work, and the chemistry between them could almost be compared to Bogart and Bacall. The sexual connection is subtle and erotic ( unusual so far in my B viewing ) and of course there is the inevitable kiss before the final fade, which is not so formulaic as the kisses have been passionate enough before. I liked the pace, the red herrings and the totally surprising killer. In all well worth watching on YouTube if nowhere else, and I hope some viewers will join me in this bargain hunt for long forgotten films in a sort of genre of their own. The genre was made to fill up an hour of time before the main feature. I wonder how many left the cinema having the B movie in mind, and thinking how dull the A film was ?

I quiet enjoyed this film it was very much if it's time, mid 50s and I have seen better films made around the same time but I have also seen worse. The outcome can be guessed from early on and some of the characters are one dimensional but worth a watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

I must admit my complete ignorance about Director Charles Saunders' work, but he certainly does a fine job with this B picture. Relying on an Hitchcock-like screenplay whereby an innocent journalist (Paul Carpenter) keeps finding dead bodies and rating increasingly the prime suspect to Scotland Yard inspector Crambo (superior supporting show from Trevor Reid), the film posts strong dialogue and an interesting plot with a villain that I had not seen coming.

Splendidly simple photography, good fight sequences, clever twists and turns - all help make THE NARROWING CIRCLE a worthy watch, with the added bonus that Hazel Court has the loveliest eyes and a deliciously plump figure.

Recommended B noir.

As another reviewer on this site has noted, THE NARROWING CIRCLE is a somewhat disappointing B-movie thriller. Compared to other films of the genre from this era - like OPERATION DIPLOMAT, say, or even the cheapie Butcher Films movies of the early '60s - it feels sloppily written in places, and as a mystery it cheats the viewer by preventing them from being able to guess the identity of the villain thanks to some mediocre writing.

Paul Carpenter essays the role of an unsympathetic writer for the pulp magazines who finds himself framed for murder by persons unknown. The only ally he has on his side to help him is the pretty Hazel Court, a year before she hit the horror big time with Hammer's THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Together the pair move through a plot involving detectives, multiple murder, and a rather convoluted back story with more than a few plot holes if you look too closely.

THE NARROWING CIRCLE features the likes of Ferdy Mayne, Basil Dignam, and Hugh Latimer in support. Trevor Reid is very good as the acerbic detective and gets all the funniest lines. Carpenter feels pretty wooden and there's a bit of a vacuum where his character is involved. The film was directed by B-movie specialist Charles Saunders (WOMANEATER) and made by Fortress Films, who put out 8 B-movies during the 1950s before disappearing into obscurity.

Paul Carpenter and Hazel Court make a handsome couple investigating who killed the corpses he keeps stumbling over in this diverting potboiler with amusing dialogue and supporting characters, a jaunty music score and the usual agreeable views of London sixty years ago.

Based on a novel by Julian Symonds using office politics as it's starting point and turning into a new version of 'So Long at the Fair'. Ferdy Mayne plays a character ironically called 'Straight', the hero signs himself into a hotel under the name 'Smith' and Ronnie Stevens also ironically plays a barman everybody calls 'Jack' who prefers to be called 'Jimmy' back in the days when he himself was billed as 'Ronald'.