Three Steps in the Dark

No prizes for guessing who gets the first couple of shots in this sardonic little murder mystery with Greta Gynt as a glacially glamorous crime novelist in a power suit.

When one of their number gets killed the first concern shown by the next of kin is with the state of his will rather than his health and they continue to eye each other suspiciously exchanging catty remarks until the sudden and violent conclusion after just sixty minutes.

While this is a familiar and formulaic murder-mystery tale (discussion of a Will with all relatives seated around a long table), so too is the easy dismissal of it formulaic - and rather lazy. These are rubber-stamp reviews, rather like "quota-quickie" rubber stamp as if to give something a familiar label is to properly describe it.

Yes one wonders if the studios ever broke the old house dark wood panelled set, it seemed to appear so regularly. Did the elderly butler ever change out of costume, or merely have a cigarette and coffee during the short break between the same role in films from the '30s - '50s? But this is a murder mystery and while the setting was by this time thoroughly hackneyed, there is some intelligence and creativity in the plot. Audiences for this type of film did not come for the cinematography or the exotic locations, they came to follow the plot and see if they could guess who dunnit. Rather than sit at home reading an Agatha Christie, they chose to go out Saturday night and sit in their local cinema watching the same stuff as they read at home. The clues and plot details are what interest them and there are plenty here.

The lovely Greta Gynt is her usual intelligent cool self, displaying this time a pretty full range of emotions. Mrs Lop-Sided from the Lady Killers (Katie Johnson) is her demure self.

But who really did fire the final shot - we don't actual see who did - or who died, or if they died. All we see is a horrified/saddened expression. My money's on Mrs Lop-Sided, after all she dun the East Castle Street job. I'm sticking with Ma.

"Three Steps In The Dark" (1953) lasts 57 minutes, but feels longer than that: it's a traditional "cranky old man gathers all his relatives in a secluded mansion and reveals that he's about to change his will so of course he gets bumped off soon afterwards" whodunit, done without any frills, on a miniscule budget, with 95% of the "action" taking place inside two or three rooms. Greta Gynt, the only recognizable name in the cast, plays a writer of mystery novels so you expect that to play a part in the solution of the murder, but she is rather underutilized. Apparently long considered lost, but not quite an unearthed treasure. ** out of 4.

Nicholas Hannen is rewriting his will. Then he is murdered, and the new will disappears. Good thing that there's a single family member in the closed room with him when the two shots are fired, and then elderly servant Katie Johnson opens the door and finds them there. Then she drops the tray containing the drinks and crystal. Wait. Two shots?

It's one of those locked room mysteries in which the murder doesn't happen until about a third of the way through it, and there are plenty of motives for killing. Greta Gynt and Hugh Sinclair headline the cast, but this 61-minute programmer doesn't waste any time on character. Still, for a locked-room mystery, it's pretty good.

An old wealthy man of great property invites all his children and their consorts to dinner to tell them he is changing his will. He intends to give over his great mansion to his son Henry, on condition that he gives up his fiancée, a lovely young actress. Henry of course is infuriated and walks out, and his girl tries to run away from the house. Meanwhile the old man gets shot in his library, his other son was there with him and is holding a gun when the others enter all upset, but that gun is not smoking. He claims he saw another person out in the dark, whom he tried to pursue and shoot at but did not get, using his father's pistol. His wife is Greta Gynt and the leading character here, a thriller writer, who if anyone should be able to figure out the mystery, which she eventually does. But the murderer once again gets away in the night.

It's almost an Agatha Christie mystery involving poisoning and a suspected butler, while there is only one person above suspicion - Katie Johnson, who would have inherited the lot if Henry had stuck to his love, which he did. They get away to get married. It is great entertainment with a wonderful dialog, and you won't risk falling asleep - the intrigue keeps constantly thickening.