Out of the Shadow

A quickie quota B movie, at least you can gauge the evolution of Michael Winner as a film director.

Murder on the Campus is an early work that Winner wrote and directed. Mark Kingston (Terence Longdon) is a journalist who is investigating the death of his brother who was a student at Cambridge. The police think it was a suicide.

The police think Kingston is a nuisance who just gets in the way. However as soon as Kingston arrives on the scene, there are several other suspicious deaths.

There is something about the university accommodation that is of interest to someone.

This is a brisk and lively film, there are several suspects. You would probably gather that the most unlikely people are likely to be culprits.

It might not make much sense but Winner was a determined director. Within a few years after the release of this film he made it to Hollywood.

Bearing a 1962 copyright date but with a cast member (Edwin Styles, who plays the college principal) who died in December 1960, this otherwise very routine murder mystery (with the usual noisy jazz score) is enlivened by location work in Cambridge (where the locals in one scene can be seen gathering to enjoy watching the actors at work) and by the erratic direction of a young Michael Winner.

Winner has managed to assemble a cast of familiar faces to go through the motions and the frequent dollies & dissolves create a veneer of sophistication that goes some way towards camouflaging that Winner still hasn't yet mastered getting his eyelines to match during dialogue scenes.

In a University town that is famed for it's genteel manners, somehow Michael Winner believes that the hero, Mark Kingston, can get to the bottom of what he believes is the murder of his brother. There is precious little, "please, thank you or sorry" from him and his whole manner consists of being at best, abrasive to all and sundry.

I do realise it's only a film, but credibility hits a low when the police appear to believe that two drownings in the local river are not suspicious. The area of Cambridge where the River Cam passes the Colleges is know as "The Backs". The Cam is about four foot deep there, hence the use of flat bottom boats driven by poles (Punts).

As with so many "B" pictures of this era, there is the customary American Actor who despite his obscurity in the film world even among Americans, is there in the hope of creating some interest in the film stateside. In this particular case, his character is that of a USAF Sergeant, who is equally rude and abrasive to complete strangers. At one stage, Kingston offers him a lift back to his airbase, to which he responds that it's not necessary because it's within walking distance. The nearest airbase is Duxford, which is about 9 miles from Cambridge, and the USAF pulled out of there in 1945.

If you have a reasonable knowledge of Cambridge, you are more likely to treat this film as a comedy rather than a thriller.

Murder on The Campus is very much a B movie, it's not one I think many who saw it would have remembered for very long, as there is very little that's unique or exciting about it. That's said it's still an enhenjoyable watch, with a few twists and a few moments of intrigue. The acting is decent, solid enough, Longdon is solid in the lead role. I think of the fifties and sixties as a classic time for whodunnits, sadly this isn't one of the obscure gems.

Worth a look, but not one you'll remember for very long.

Michael Winner had a long and illustrious career as a notorious director of exploitation and bad taste movies until his death in 2013. He started out on his career back in the early 1960s with a series of documentary shorts and low budget black-and-white potboilers, and OUT OF THE SHADOW is one such production.

The movie was shot in and around Cambridge with the university playing a large role in the proceedings, hence the alternate title MURDER ON THE CAMPUS. CARRY ON REGARDLESS actor Terence Longdon is the erstwhile hero, investigating the death of his brother who was thrown out of a college window. Before long he encounters a conspiracy of silence and soon attracts the attention of a murderer keen to cover up his crime.

OUT OF THE SHADOW is certainly adequate as a B-movie thriller and no better or worse than the type of product being put out by Francis Searle and Butcher's Film Studios during the same era. Longdon is a likable lead and the supporting cast give some good performances, particularly Diane Clare (PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES). It's not the kind of film that will blow your mind but it trundles along merrily enough and Winner shows some talent at even this early stage of his career.