O Tesouro do Diabo

Having read the four IMDB reviews and the external one, I nearly didn't bother to watch my recording of TTOST, as screened on Talking Pictures. In the end I did, and I wasn't too dissatisfied. It was comparable to the low-cost B films shot in London in the 1950s that I enjoy: slightly uninspiring cast, nostalgic 1950s scenes, creaky plot.

I'm unsure how the three main characters all ended up in the same "night club" at the same time some 15 years after they last met, and there were several other plot holes. But the locations - presumably all in West Germany - were good. The finale at the railway station was atmospheric; I wonder whether at times the cameras were concealed - certainly the other passengers didn't have the look of extras.

I was a little surprised that it soon became obvious in a 1959 film that the "night club" was an upmarket brothel. And the outside reviewer was very taken with Nadine Tallier's bath scene - which may have made up for her acting being poor.

Towards the end, one of the girls remarked that she was waiting for "Marius" (Goring) when she should have said "Rudi" (Siebert).

Clive Dunn, then 38 or 39, played the elderly cemetery keeper, complete with specs, anticipating his playing Corporal Jones in "Dad's Army" 12 years later.

I love British 'B' pictures of this period and watching them is invariably more fun than working. Wish they could attract half the comments (and viewers)that Mars Attacks or Independence Day receives. Unfortunately, British film makers in the 1950s and 60s often seemed careless over continuity. (I shall record the relative cock-up as a 'goof'.)

Whilst i agree the sentiments of the other reviewer about the lack of reviews for British films ,i cannot share any enthusiasm for this film.It is poorly constructed with gaping holes in the plot.The film completely changes tack after about 50 minutes so that instead of a hunt for treasure it becomes over complicated with characters introduced with very little explanation.The tie in to these characters is a conversation between Considine and Adams overheard by her flatmate.This begs the question as to how the flatmate came to be in the right place at the right time.The support cast is good but unfortunately by the time the climax came around i felt totally disengaged and disinterested.

The plot is hackneyed, even for the period, and the pace plodding. However it does have some fascinating, documentary-quality external shots of steam locos, railway stations, bridges and rivers, etc., often filmed in a pleasingly 'noir-ish' style and, if nothing else, must still be of interest to transport enthusiasts and post-war historians. In contrast, the studio filming looks extremely flat and conventionally composed. It would be interesting to know who the second unit director was.

It is also of some interest to see Christopher Lee in an early role although, as usual, he is woefully underused.

THE TREASURE OF SAN TERESA is an odd little British film noir with more intrigue than resolution. It's a sloppily-written little thing that fails to build on relevant Cold War tensions, instead delivering a rather stodgy adventure despite the globe-trotting nature of the narrative. Viewers watching this under the American retitling - HOT MONEY GIRL - will certainly be disappointed!

TREASURE is a UK production made with some West German financing, and stars the reliable Eddie Constantine as a man on the hunt for some missing treasure. Assisting him is the beautiful and exotic Dawn Addams, and hindering him are a couple of foreign heavies (Christopher Lee as the dodgy Jaeger and Walter Gotell as a copper).

Sadly the production has little life or atmosphere to recommend it and indeed things only pick up right at the train station climax. Until that point it's a run-of-the-mill production in which the lack of budget and ambition is always well apparent.