Blind Spot

"Blind Spot" is a remake of the 1950 film "Blackout"...and in general I prefer the originals. However, in this case, I've never seen the 1950 movie and just saw this one for one reason...which I'll get to in a bit.

The story stars Robert MacKenzie. I tried in vain to look up information about him and where he was from, but despite playing an American in this movie, he sure sounded like a Brit trying to sound like a very brusk American.

Captain Dan Adams (MacKenzie) is an American serviceman who was blinded some time ago in an accident. He's spent the last several months in the hospital but takes time off to go into town. When he is dropped off at the wrong location, he doesn't realize it. After all...he IS blind. When he enters the residence, he finds a body on the floor. Soon a couple guys arrive and smack him over the head...knocking him out. He awakens in the hospital and tells the authorities...but no one seems concerned.

Soon the Captain undergoes surgery and his sight is restored. Now he goes in search of what happened...but once again when he finds some incriminating information about the murder AND he receives a package bomb soon after (which kills his friend), the police don't seem all that concerned. In fact, at every turn, folks seem to either lie to him or minimize his concerns. What REALLY is going on here?

This is a pretty typical British B-mystery. The big reason I watched it is to see Michael Caine in one of his early roles. Well, not yet being a star, he had to take what he could get...and in this case this meant playing the corpse that the Captain discovers! A role that gave him experience but not an especially plum role!

Is it worth seeing? Well, for Caine...no. You only briefly see him on the floor as well as a photo of him as well as in a short segment at the very end...so Caine fans won't be especially impressed. Also, his voice seems to be dubbed...it's NOT Caine's voice unless he had a LOT of voice training to change his voice...A LOT! As to the movie itself, even though I never saw the original, the plot seems very, very familiar and I've seen other movies like it. It is reasonably entertaining and well done...but nothing special.

I caught this minor gem many years back on afternoon tv. I was very entertained by the plot of an American Army officer who is stationed in contemporary (late 50's) England, suffers a brain injury that blinds him, and while trying to find the address of a friend enters the wrong flat (still blind), gets thumped on the head by an unknown assailant who promptly takes off, and leaves our hero cured of his blindness--and in the middle of a big crime conspiracy...all in the first ten minutes of the film! Movie buffs may remember this for Michael Caine's bottom-listing in the opening credits(it turns out he has lot more to do with the plot than first apparent. My favorite feature of this is hero Robert Mackenzie( whom you may recognize as the antagonist Gibbons in "Fiend Without A Face") trying very hard --and almost succeeding--in hiding his Scots accent. If you see it in your listings, give it a look.

Robert McKenzie is a US tank officer who is temporarily blind. He goes to visit a friend, finds a corpse, and two men knock him out. When he wakes up, he's back in the base hospital. The doctor tells him he knocked himself out falling down a stair. The Scotland Yard inspector who's there tells him that he's mistaken. Later, when his eyes are back in working order, he investigates on his own. The clues all point to a young pilot who died in a crash a year earlier.

It's from the usually reliable producing team of Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker, but it's a terrible movie. Sometimes it's hard to tell if a script is bad, or the actors are not very good. I was doubly confounded by McKenzie's performance. He adopts one of those flat accents that English people with poor ears think is typical of Yanks; in this case, it occasionally slides into Irish lilts. In addition, he does not act like a man who is recently blind. When sightless, he never turns to look at whoever is speaking. Other problems with the script is that no one ever addresses him by his army rank, even though he is a serving officer, and the mystery of whodunnit was apparent about twenty minutes in, despite an utter lack of clues.

Gordon Jackson and John Le Meseurier have prominent roles, which they manage decently, despite the illogical writing.

Good fun...with R Mckenzie sounding a bit like Connery in the untouchables...difficult to lose that Scots accent eh ..great to see all the future famous actors... 2 out of dads army..also a very young G Jackson...and M Caine..plot a bit run of the mill...sort of british noire...but the soon to be famous actors step it up a notch.

To a-mccleave You can see this film on Talking pictures TV. If you have a Humax Freeview Box you will be able to record it and keep it indefinately. Hope this helps. Donald