Person Unknown

One thing about the SCOTLAND YARD series is its predictability. There's the Edgar Lustgarten introduction, followed by a sight of the murder, then the Superintendent (played in this episode by Russell Napier) takes over the investigation. Most of the action unfolds in reported speech, although there is the occasional punch-up, but never involving the superintendent. The morality of the series is constant, with Lustgarten reminding us that crime does not pay in any contexts. The elements of the series rarely change, so we always know what to expect from it.

Inspector Duggan is trying to work out what happened to quarry worker Josef Cusick, who was found blown up, Duggan's team use a dummy to discover the effects the explosion would have had on his body.

I enjoyed this one, and don't for the life of me understand the one star reviews, remember this was made back in 1956, just eleven years after the end of the second world war, people were still feeling the effects.

Easy to work out who, but not why, there was a real sense of cleverness in this story, I did enjoy the twist.

It's nicely acted, first off it's great to see George Pravda in his first English speaking role, a very strong actor, and secondly I thought Marianne Stone was excellent, I often think of her as a bit part player in thr Carry on films, playing hags and scatty friends, but she's good.

Not bad at all.

6/10.

This movie provides a good template for the B-Movie, including Russell Napier as Sgt. Duggan, a short explications passage outlining the situation, several scenes where the detectives are shown investigation, a brief violent movement followed by Duggan's re-emphasis on the importance of observing the law. Not exactly distinguished, but watchable enough.