L'uomo che morì tre volte

THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED is an early '60s black-and-white conspiracy thriller with enough twists to make even M. Night Shyamalan blush and a great cast of British character actors. Along with underrated leading man Stanley Baker and a typically villainous Peter Cushing, we're graced with the presence of NIGHT OF THE DEMON's Niall MacGinnis, Inspector Nayland Smith himself, Nigel Green, and plenty of others who round out various roles: tough cops, pompous officials, friendly advisers, and the like.

The film itself is one of those 'small town conspiracy' movies where it seems that everyone's in on some secret, apart from the lead of course. This generates plenty of suspense and although the film is rather dated when viewed in a modern light – cosy rather than dangerous – it proves more than adequate entertainment. It also possesses at least one twist I didn't see coming in advance, so there's kudos for that.

The film is a little slow and stodgy in places. It feels like a Bond film on occasion, with Baker arriving in an exotic (well, Germany) destination and attempting to uncover the secrets involving some evil criminal mastermind. The eventual solving of the crime ties into the Cold War in a nicely unexpected way. Yes, I could have done with some more action, some more open peril – the movie's premise is perfect for the odd chase scene, for instance – but it's hard to fault or be too hard on an efficient little thriller like this.

Baker returns to Bavaria upon learning that his father, who he believed had died 20 years ago might still be alive. On arriving at the local town he is faced with resistance from all sides.

Enjoyable British mystery which, whilst a bit dated, is a good story with various twists so you never know until the end who the baddies really are and what is going on. The cast of British stalwarts are all pretty good, particular Eric Portman as the stern police chief and Baker is a solid enough lead despite the fact he's rather angry and shouty in every scene.

What a strange movie this turned out to be. I found the conclusion most unsatisfying considering the histrionics from the majority of characters, particularly from the lead Baker and the Inspector (Portman) who swung inexplicably between moods of benevolence and vile-temperedness. Who was in whose grave and who wasn't buried at all? Was Cushing's character that of a mad scientist or a loyal and concerned friend of Baker's father? Characters take turns at pointing a gun at each other, none ever convincingly indicating they would actually use it! After all the intrigue and menacing dialogue (and lots of it) the explanation of the scientist (who wanted to be a nonentity) towards the end of the film just left me bewildered. Maybe he should have been the one pushed off the train?

Not only is THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED the second movie where Niall MacGinnis has a gun drawn on a train during the climax following CURSE OF THE DEMON, but THE THIRD MAN has been knocked-off once again...

And this time... despite a horribly intrusive, melodramatic harpsichord hammering like lightning following a horror film revelation... it's a pretty good effort as former German child now adult British citizen/jazz pianist Stanley Baker returns to Germany after getting a mysterious call about his father, who he thought was dead twenty-years ago, and is now dead again, only it happened a week earlier...

And as this effective mystery thriller progresses, the dad, like Orson Welles's Harry Lime, could have been involved in some bad things, covered up by a doctor played by Peter Cushing (protecting widow Mai Zetterling and directed by Hammer's Quentin Lawrence, and having co-starred with Baker in VIOLENT PLAYGROUND), while also helping gorgeous ingenue Georgina Ward, whose father was buried in the same grave that, well...

There are too many twists to count or spoil, but Baker, donning Ray Charles-like sunglasses even indoors, goes from place to place in his usual strongarm, no-nonsense fashion, only a bit more vulnerable, and deliberately confused, like the audience.

1962's "The Man Who Finally Died," released December 1963, was a BBC serial that originally aired in 1959, with this feature version following three years later, with an entirely different cast. Stanley Baker stars as British subject Joe Newman, formerly the German-born Joachim Deutsch, who has believed his father Kurt dead for 20 years, until receiving a phone call from Bavaria claiming to be Kurt Deutsch. Upon arriving, he locates his father's grave before visiting the Deutsch widow, Lisa (Mai Zetterling), currently living in the country home of Dr. Peter von Brecht (Peter Cushing), his every move watched by the local police, plus the insurance investigator (Niall MacGinnis) responsible for Newman's phone call, who believes the deceased still lives. Holds up rather well despite its television origins, thankfully not lost though unseen for decades, reuniting Baker with Peter Cushing five years after 1957's "Violent Playground." Cushing initially appears sympathetic but gradually displays more sinister shadings, but has only one lengthy scene during the film's first half (the von Brecht home is Bray studio's familiar Oakley Court). The fine supporting cast includes Nigel Green, who previously appeared with Cushing in 1960's "Sword of Sherwood Forest," which also featured Niall MacGinnis (playing Friar Tuck), who again supported Cushing in 1966's excellent "Island of Terror." Certainly not a horror film, though it made one appearance on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater on Aug 7 1976, paired with second feature "The Horror of Party Beach."