The Teckman Mystery

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY is the kind of programmer that routinely appears on television but regularly released in cinemas in the Forties and Fifties. It concerns a writer, Philip Chance who is asked to write a book about a recently-deceased pilot Martin Teckman. Initially reluctant to do so, he is drawn into a web of intrigue, organized by Martin's sister (Margaret Leighton), in which Martin is revealed to be not dead at all but the victim of a conspiracy that leads to his attempt to kill himself.

The film offers some good exterior shots of mid-Fifties London, with mercifully less traffic but plenty of secret areas where corruption thrives. The cast don't have too much to do with their roles: Justin acts the part of the debonair writer in more danger than he thinks, while Leighton is marginally too old for her role. Lovers of Fifties curiosities will note that this thriller is directed by a woman, Wendy Toye, one of the few British women to be operative at that time.

I just wanted to say a few words about this gem of a film. I gladly watched the 90 minutes and enjoyed all of the suspense. I ordered this film as I like British Film Noir and I happened to notice Margaret Leighton's name topping the cast. I am also a John Justin and Raymond Huntley fan too! It is always nice to see Jane Wenhem who is little known. The photography is really done very nicely. Once I started watching I had to see what happened to the brother who was suspiciously murdered. From the first engaging moments through the rest of the film I really got caught up in the suspense! I think the entire film was wrapped up in a tidy way. At the end we find that things work out unexpectedly! But we still have enjoyed watching.

John Justin is a writer flying home to London to argue that he shouldn't write the biography of a test pilot whose plane crashed. As he sits on the plane, Margaret Leighton is seated next to him, reading a magazine with a story by him. They get to chatting and he discovers she is the sister of the pilot. He decides to write the book, but as he does his research, the people he wishes to speak to keep dying.

It's a nice little mystery, with director Wendy Toye adhering to many of the conventions of the British film genre, including the police actually knowing how to do their job. It's not a terribly deep mystery, but it does turn into an interesting movie in terms of suspense: The audience and Justin have all the clues they need, and Justin's inability to see the solution puts him at risk. It makes you want to shout at him.

I wasn't as enamored of this as some. A biographer researching a book on a dead pilot falls for the pilot's sister.

As he gets further into the pilot's death and the aircraft he was flying, people start turning up dead.

The film stars John Justin as the author and Margaret Leighton as the pilot's sister.

The story is told by director Wendy Toye without much in the way of plot - it's very no-nonsense. That makes the different twists less confusing but not very exciting. If you're looking for tension, it's not there. John Justin, however, is appealing

I felt this could have been better. It didn't draw me in. For me there wasn't enough there there.

Nice post-war British espionage mystery. Clever and wonderfully acted. Margaret Leighton super (of course), but whole cast top notch.