Ricatto

Oskar Homolka (Mr Heiss) owns an antique shop and is very proud of his violin-playing daughter Muriel Pavlow (Margaret) who is just breaking into the big time. Kenneth Griffith (Archie) is a slimy weasel who works in the shop and is attracted to Muriel. God knows why. She has a boyfriend in the Navy - Derek Farr (Robert) - and they are the rather bland goody-two-shoes couple. It is the other actors who give this film colour and the desire to see things through to the end. Griffith has a weasely plan to get one over Homolka.

One strange thing about the film was making Homolka a French citizen. No, he's not. What's the point in trying to pull that one off? Anyway, I'm not surprised at what he's up to with his antiques and when you have a character like the slimy Griffith as an assistant, then you are asking for trouble. Diana Dors (Mildred) has a memorable small role as a cheap girlfriend for Griffith. As does Katie Johnson as a customer in the shop - you'll recognize her from her pivotal role in "The Ladykillers" (1955).

This film has an excellent cast.Kenneth Griffiths being very nasty as the blackmailing Archie.Gary Marsh being his usual jovial policeman.Bits from Kathleen Harrison and Irene Handel.However towering over them all is Oscar Hamolka and his expressive eyebrows.He steals every scene he is in,not just in this film but every film he appeared in.His is an excellent performance which keeps the film going after the murder of Archie.However the film does rely on an unlikely contrivance to bring the film to its slightly tame ending.What on earth was Irene Handel doing wandering around in the woods late at night?Due to her presence the murder eventually unravels.

Oscar Homolka is super in this crafty little crime noir. He portrays a reputable antiques dealer whose daughter "Margaret" (Muriel Pavlow) is a virtuoso violinist. Unbeknown to all, though, he also has another business fencing stolen jewellery with his friend Derek Farr. When his odious clark "Morris" (Manning Whiley) overhears one of their conversations and tries his hand at a little blackmail, things start to spiral out of control as he threatens to tell the young woman of her father's behind-the-scenes shenanigans. When he demands that he be allowed to marry her - well you can guess! George King keeps the pace of this moving along well, with Whiley really good as the scheming underling whose looming comeuppance is surely just a matter of time. The score - especially the Mendelssohn Violin concerto at the end, adds loads to the atmosphere of this superior thriller that has plenty to shout about. Rarely seen these days, but if you do come across it - give it a watch, it's a more substantial part for the star that is well worth a watch.

I finally caught this film on an ebay DVD copy which was OK quality but not top notch. I'd read Muriel Pavlow's interview by Brian McFarlane which mentioned this film and her role in it and so i was interested to see it. This is the film on which she met her future husband actor Derek Farr and admits she was upstaged by Oscar Homolka every which way. Homolka is the heart and guts of this film and he is superb. Kenneth Griffith( he played the same role in the stage production) also shines and once he disappears from the action the film is not so gripping. There is an effective twist in the tale/tail and it is a surprisingly downbeat story overall with its insights into the less savoury side of human character.

This was best known as Diana Dors' first movie. Though she is not in the credits, crowds of her admirers turned out to see it. The plot twists and turns were so surprising, never quite what I guessed might have happened. Holmolka's performance is very realistic rather than a costumed caricature. Dors steals the show with her nasty wiggle walk through about four scenes and less than 10 minutes of film.