The Peterville Diamond

Enjoyed this British film which concerns a woman named Teri Mortimer, (Anne Crawford) who is married to a very rich man named Charles Mortimer, (Donald Stewart) and this couple are beginning to separate in their relationship and Teri Mortimer wants to see what she can do to wake her husband up and sort of get jealous of her. Teri's girlfriends do their best to help her out and devise all different kind of ways to get her husband to buy her a very expensive diamond called the Peterville Diamond. Charles Mortimer does start to become aware that is wife just might be having an affair with another man and so he does buy her this very expensive diamond in order to get his wife's attention and his married life can get back to normal. However, there are many problems which seem to arise and the diamond is stolen and there is a constant search for just where the diamond is and who has stolen this precious gem. Lots of British laughter and a very entertaining film. Enjoy.

This was a mildly enjoyable film, but despite Teddington Studio trying hard to make a nice little farce, the human often seemed a tad forced and not especially funny. Not a bad film, though not one that you'll long remember.

The film begins with a ridiculous plot device--a man and woman are on their honeymoon and the man is so busy with his business that he actually brings along his secretary and works the entire time! This is funny but also so ridiculous because it was completely impossible unless you just assume the man was gay. The understandably angry wife is beside herself and decides to try and make her indifferent husband jealous. However, despite having a good plan, her plan goes awry when a real stranger (in the form of a gentleman bandit) comes into her life for real. This bandit was by far the best aspect of the film--as he was quite charming and funny despite being a crook! After they meet during a robbery, the film slows down and becomes a tad tedious--especially during a dinner party when the stolen jewels keep getting lost and switched. This got old quickly and I found myself getting bored and wanting the film to wrap up quickly. Too bad the momentum was lost and it all ended up so mediocre--the film had some promise.

Aside from Felix Aylmer's appearance as the President of his South American country, I hadn't really heard of many of the cast of jobbing British actors drafted in for this amiable crime caper. High-roller "Mortimer" (Donald Stewart) is determined to close a big deal but is neglecting his increasingly bored wife "Teri" (Anne Crawford). Intent on getting his attention, she goes to an high-end jewellers where she has discovered the eponymous diamond is being sold. Now one of her husband's underlings has alerted his boss to her visit and once they are both there, things start to hot up! A robbery is afoot, and with the help of some rather potent perfume she is relieved of her new jewel and the police are soon on the case. Later that evening they attend a state dinner with the aforementioned president and it's there that they realise that their charming and debonaire robber is also in attendance - in the guise of an influential businessman. Can they retrieve the stone - and the state jewels that have also been pilfered - before this character makes good their escape? At times this borders on the farce, but it is pretty well executed with good timing and just a little more sophistication to keep the pot boiling. Certainly, it's twenty minutes too long and the ending stretches out the theme a bit too far, but for the most part it's an enjoyable outing for Crawford and for Charles Helsop as long-suffering aide "Dilfallow" that moves along with a bit of style and a decent pace.

"The Peterville Diamond" from 1942 is a pretty good British film with people not terribly well known on this side of the pond but nevertheless quite good. I would have liked to have seen this with spiffier production values and stars a la MGM. It's the kind of story that needs some gloss.

The plot concerns a bored, wealthy woman who feels ignored by her husband. To spice things up, she has a woman friend call her, and in the presence of her butler, she arranges a tryst at a jewelry store. The butler dutifully tells the husband. While everyone is at the store, it's robbed by one of those gentleman robbers they used to have in the '30s, a Raffles type. He later shows up at a dinner party hosted by the woman and her husband, and now he's a baron. It takes off from there, with confusion over a case containing either jewels or papers which leads to car chases.

I'm sure it's not a long film but due to the thinness of the plot, it felt like it went on too long. Nevertheless, parts of it are fun.

This quota quickie actually made me laugh a few times, thanks particularly to the charm of Anne Crawford -- in her first billed role, as a neglected wife trying to get her businessman husband to notice her -- and William Hartnell, the future Dr. Who, demonstrating his expertise at physical comedy. During a Latin American vacation, Crawford tries to make her husband think she's meeting a lover at a local jewelry store. When he follows her there, they get mixed up with a gentleman jewel thief and his assistant.

If you've only seen Hartnell in Dr. Who, which he made toward the end of his career, you'll be surprised by his physical grace. As the thief's assistant, he steals most of his scenes and does some great work in a chase sequence trying to keep some stolen diamonds from a police detective.

Crawford was only in her twenties and looks quite lovely. She has a good way with a comic reaction, but also keeps it all serious enough to make the rather thin material look better than it is.

This was one of Warner Bros.' low-budget British productions shot at Teddington Studio. It was made to satisfy government demands that a percentage of films shown in the country be made in Great Britain with British talent. The film looks much better than that might lead you to expect, re-creating a Latin town entirely on sound stages. It's a pleasant way to pass 90 minutes.