A Man Called Harry Brent

I liked this Francis Durbridge serial a lot. A bizarre murder of a managing director sets the scene for the always terrific Gerald Harper to make his mark as the brittle Detective Inspector Alan Milton. He is still smarting from a broken engagement and then finding his ex-fiancee is engaged again - to Harry Brent who, try as he might to appear innocent, seems to know a lot more than he lets on!!

Carol's brother, gentleman farmer Eric Vyner, seems to be quite chummy with Harry and a Mrs. Tolly seeks out Milton, she worked with the murdered man and swears she saw both the victim and Harry at a cafe, months before they were supposed to have met for the first time. Then there is the mystery of the pen - Milton gets a call a day after the murder by a woman who claims she gave Wedgewood (the victim) a particular pen for a Christmas present and now wants it back - weird!! Just who is the mastermind who is pulling the strings!! Theatre tickets are found in Harry's wallet but he claims no knowledge of them and again, as with all Durbridge's mysteries, this leads down another rabbit hole!!

Harper commands the whole show but Jennifer Daniels, as Carol, was a very familiar face on 1960s British television. Judy Parfitt also excels as actress Jacqueline Davidson.

Any Durbridge fan, or lover of Sixties mysteries will definitely enjoy this one. A bizarre crime occurs, and the viewer is left to wait until the very last to discover the killer's identity and motive. I'd say the opening few episodes are excellent, the closing ones are very good, perhaps not the high standard of the opening view.

It's jam packed with intrigue and mystery, as always Durbridge leads you constantly into blind alleys. On several occasions you think something's happening, when it's actually quite the opposite.

Gerald Harper steals the show as the solid Detective, but he's particularly well supported by Edward Brayshaw, Bernard Brown and Judy Parfitt are good value, Brian Wilde is ok, but was much better in Melissa.

I don't enjoy this one as much as Game of Murder or Bat out of Hell, but it's still very much worth a watch. 7/10