Je cherche le criminel

Staring Hugh Williams and Greats Gynt this British 40's thriller is well worth a look.

Intelligent narration by the judge in charge of a murder. And when you arrive at the end, you want to see again the first part to see how smart it was. First movie directed by former cinematographer Ronald Neame who worked on "Great Expectations" as adaptator. Great acting by Greta Gynt as the determined wife of her husband accused of murder but innocent. Ronald Neame was like Guy Green, Jack Cardiff, Freddie Francis, Seth Holt, Terence Fisher, Jimmy Sangster, Michael Carreras and many others : they could work as editor, cinematographer, screenwriter, director, and even actor.

I just wish I knew who dubbed Greta Gynt - she had a beautiful voice.

Gynt stars with Hugh Williams, Marius Goriing, and Francis L. Sullivan in "Take My Life," a British noir from 1947.

Williams is Nicholas Talbot, the husband and manager of opera star Phillipa Shelley (Gynt). Opening night of a new opera, an old girlfriend of Nicholas' shows up. Once they are home, Phillipa teases her husband about her; he becomes annoyed, and they start fighting. During the fight, she throws something at him and injures him in the forehead. He leaves.

The next day, the old girlfriend is found dead, and Nicholas matches the description of a man seen leaving her apartment. He is arrested.

Phillipa takes it upon herself to investigate the murder and clear Nicholas.

It's an okay drama; the evidence of the murder is somewhat flimsy. Greta Gynt was very beautiful, and I have enjoyed her films. The prosecuting counselor (Sullivan) brought a lot of life to the film, as a forerunner of Charles Laughton in WItness for the Prosecution.

.especially if you are married to someone else! What on earth was rich layabout Hugh Williams (Nick) thinking? I say layabout but he's actually the manager of his talented operatic singer wife Greta Gynt (Phillipa). She's the one with the talent, so, yep, he's probably a layabout feeding off her success. Anyway, his ex is violin player Rosalie Crutchley (Liz) and she ends up dead which is bad news for layabout boy. He's in the dock for murder and heading for the afterlife courtesy of the death penalty. Cue sharp-witted Greta to go out and prove his innocence.

This film travels along at a good pace and is basically a thriller. The mystery element is taken away near the beginning of the film as the killer is revealed. This doesn't matter and takes nothing away from the enjoyment of the film as Gynt goes after the truth and puts herself in danger. Real danger!

The film starts with an interesting voice-over from lawyer Frances L. Sullivan as he puts his case forward for the prosecution in court. Just sit back and let the film carry you along. There are some light touches thrown in along with moments of suspense. The shop-keeper and his opening times is quite amusing – don't open till 9:00 am – ha ha. The film is nothing special but it is enjoyable as you watch it.

It's a great film with great performances.... as so many reviewers here express that same sentiment so much more eloquently than I ever could....! The poorer reviews are critical in areas that only time has given them the benefit of.... 'Even' as a black and white movie there is a wonderful atmosphere that a color version could never hope to meet let alone exceed..!

If you tend to enjoy good entertainment with no pre-conceived expectations then this film will most certainly deliver.....

I sometimes wish that this fantastic app and website would also list a few of the more contemporary reviews so as to provide a sense of the film's context to ordinary film goers.... but even with that option, unfortunately, there would be very few that people might have written let alone shared....!