Run a Crooked Mile

An English school teacher (Louis Jordan!) witnesses what he calls a murder (actually, one man was defending himself from being attacked by a chap with a gun that discharged accidentally in a struggle, so I can't imagine what rational being would call that a murder). Naturally, the police don't believe him, especially when he reaches the place where it happened and it's all changed.

Hiring a sleazebag private detective (Terence Alexander, in a great but small bit) he gets a lead but then gets thunked on the head following it up.

When he wakes up he's living in a palatial villa outside Geneva, married to a young Mary Tyler Moore. I should have such a bump.

So, was his past a delusion caused by a polo playing accident, and has he lost his mind? Or have a lot of people in conspiracy set him up in a wonderful new life? And why is he complaining about it?

But for some reason he's determined to get to the bottom of it all, and that means more danger from the conspirators. If any.

A truly first-rate cast, mostly in small roles, gives the star more than adequate support. One stand-out (as always) is the great Wilfred Hyde-White.

I can't figure out if it's a droll comedy. It's filled with some unexpected laughs. For instance, when he looks at a photo of his new wife, Moore, it looks like a goofy publicity shot left over from "The Dick van Dyke Show." And Jordan's attitude to his new surroundings strikes me as so incongruous as to be funny. A serious-minded teacher is suddenly Gaston from "Gigi."

His quest to find out what happened should satisfy conspiracy buffs. The rest of us can enjoy some fine performances by some of Britain's top supporting actors. It's nice, silly, cozy fun to kill an afternoon.

In 1969's TV film Run a Crooked Mile, Louis Jourdan plays Richard Stuart, a math teacher in a British school who witnesses a murder when he follows a car that sideswiped his. The police, in the person of one bicycle-riding constable, becomes involved, but when Stuart brings him to the site, there is no one there, no sign anyone has been there, and no dead body. Stuart does find an unusual-looking key, which he pockets.

Next thing he knows, Stuart is struck on the head and comes to in a Geneva Switzerland hospital. His name is suddenly Tony Sutton, he had an accident at a polo match, and now has a wife (Mary Tyler Moore). Then he finds out it's two years later. With the second accident, his memory of the murder has come back and he remembers the past.

Convinced the whole thing is a ruse set up by the killers to get him out of England and keep him from talking about what he saw, he sets out to find out what happened to him, and also, if his wife is part of the charade.

The fine cast includes Alexander Knox, Wilfred Hyde-White, Stanley Holloway, and Ronald Howard.

The movie reminded me a little bit of the Alain Delon film Diaboliquement Vôtre ("Diabolically Yours") which has a similar premise - a man involved in an accident who has amnesia and wakes up to a wife, a new name, and different surroundings.

Run a Crooked Mile has some neat twists and is very enjoyable. It's also an opportunity to see Mary Tyler Moore in a different kind of role for her. And the European scenery is magnificent.

Great movie! Intelligent plot and a treasure chest of acting talent in the likes of Holloway, Howard, Naismith, et all. I saw this movie upon its release and it still rivets me to my seat. The magic of this movie whisked me away from the tedium of 1960's mid-America to the beautiful European locations on which it was shot and allowed me to escape into intrigue, suspense and danger for a few hours. This might have been considered a mid-budget level British production, but my biased opinion is that their mid level movies beat most of our A-productions in quality. It is my hope that this fine production is released on DVD very soon.

When I saw some of the comments the other week about the film not being released on VHS or DVD, I got out my copy of the film on VHS. I taped it back in the late 1980s and have watched it at least once a year! It hasn't been played for ages here in Australia and as I have a new DVD HDD recorder AND a VHS recorder still hooked up, I have copied it on to the disc drive, edited it and included a scene selection and can burn copies any time on to DVD. The quality from the near 20 year old tape is still pretty good and very watchable. I have edited out the old ad breaks but you will see the station logo at the beginning of scenes coming back from the break but there are no watermarks during scenes. There is a little bit of a voice-over on the end credits but it only goes for about 10 seconds. If any one wants a copy, I would be happy to oblige.

This really should be re-made today ! Its got a brilliant twist and keeps the audience guessing throughout. Louis Jordan is an excellent hero. Mary Tyler Moore is his , initially sceptic, companion. The polo match injury in hospital scene is one of those "OH yeah!" cinematic moments. I would love to see this movie released and will pay good money to get a copy. If anyone ever hears about how to get hold of a copy please contact me!!! Or simply put a review comment down here so that we can all get a copy ! I actually emailed the BBC to get this re-scheduled on TV and they said they would. Nowadays, Brad Pitt would play Louis Jordan's role and Julia Roberts could be the Mary Tyler Moor role. 10/10 Fantastic !