O Sócio Secreto

A good thriller,which loses steam halfway through ,but regains its interest in the last thirty minutes,thanks to a very good unexpected twist.Yes there was such a thing almost fifty years ago.

An aging Stewart Granger portrays a wealthy British Bourgeois with a shady past whose marriage with Nicole (the beautiful Haya Harareet,famous for her part of Esther in "Ben Hur") is on the rocks. His dentist blackmails him ,and around him ,everybody may be a potential danger.The plot involves drugs,robbery,a soon-to-be-retired cop and plenty of foggy views of London in a bleak black and white.It's not in the same as league as Hitchcock,but it's quite entertaining.

This movie may not be up to the technical standards of today, but this is the kind of movie that gives you entertainment without trying to pander to some cause, or make me feel guilty about driving an SUV. There isn't any raw sex, exposed skin, car crashes, vulgar language or hidden messages. The only gun fire is target shooting, and nobody throws a punch as I recall. Yet, this is the sort of entertainment that my generation expected when we went to the movies. The plot is well conceived and keeps you guessing until the very end. The actors at the time this movie was made were very popular at the box office, and all gave an excellent performance. The female lead is an Israli actress who played opposite Charleton Heston in Ben Hur. Stewart Granger made movies for both American and English film companies, and could have made an excellent James Bond. The back drop of 1961 London has the feel of an American B & W detective movie of the "film noire" genre. Unlike some English movies made at the time, the dialog is not filled with English idioms. This is a little gem that you can watch with your relatives during the Hollidays.

I first saw this film in 1961. Many years later, it turned up on Turner Classic Movies and, like a fool, I sat here watching it without making a tape of it. What a mistake that was. Although this film is well worth watching and has a clever twist ending, all indications are that it is unavailable anywhere on video or DVD. Don't miss it if it comes up on TV again.

Stewart Granger was the best actor in English cinema in their history , he was famous in the kind of historical films especially in the time of 17th until 19th centuries.

In this film he made a surprise for the audience for changing his choice for the kind of thriller films which was cleverness from him to prove for all people that he was good actor and great artist in his history , he increased in this classical film beside his diamond films as:1- prisoner of Zenda. 2- The treasure of king Solemon. 3- Beau Brummel. 4- Salome.

This film made their thriller in cleverly way with professional touch which made it their success.

Very few crime films end on a tragic note, especially if the plot does not involve deaths and maiming. This is one such example. The last shot of the film--a long shot--of the protagonist walking alone arouses the viewers pity.

The film seems to infer that the bad guys remain bad and end up losers. Today such stories would seem sociologically incorrect to film. The plot of the film is rather good and would provide the viewer with his/her money's worth.

The last half hour of the film not only entertains but is quaintly philosophical. Haya Harareet's ("Ben Hur"'s Esther) character is a fascinating study of love for her husband and what she decides to do is even more poignant and elegant. Stewart Granger and Bernard Lee (M of the early James Bond films) perform well, but the ultimate heroes are the story writers (David Pursall and Jack Seddon) and the director Basil Deardon who make the film fairly above-average entertainment.