L'assassin court toujours

Somewhat under-rated British suspenser.Mills gives his usual excellent performance, and though the scene where he flies the plane doesn't come off, the film has more than enough compensations. Ending is a little hurried, but this a very watchable movie especially for we lovers of the 1950s British suspense genre.

Don't be taken in by the nondescript title, behind it lies a highly offbeat drama adapted from his own novel by the man who collaborated on the screenplay of 'Vertigo'.

When as a teenager I first read the plot précis in Gifford's 'Catalogue of British Films' I watched it wondering if he was kidding. He wasn't, and straight from the spoken credits, immediately followed by a bizarre dream sequence inhabited by people from his waking life we were plunged into a story surprisingly similar to Chabrol's 'La Femme Infidele', which had a similarly perverse but satisfying outcome with the hero, his wife and daughter bonded by the secret they now share.

John Mills stars in this excellent suspense picture, very reminiscent of Hitchcock, infact, you'd think it was Alfred directing this, it features some of his trademarks!

John Mills is excellent, as is the entire cast.

The screenplay in parts is a little disappointing but overall the picture works. I quite enjoyed the finale, classic stuff!

Check this film out!

John Mills plays Mr. Denning, who owns Denning Aircraft. Lately he has been distracted, bad tempered, sleepwalking, and drinking more than usual. He finally tells his wife (Phyllis Calvert) why.

When he went to confront his daughter's ne'er do well boyfriend Medos (Herbert Lom), he punches him - the man crashes his head on the fireplace and dies.

Panicked and afraid for repercussions for his daughter, Denning packs Medos' clothes, throws the body in his car, drives to a secluded location, fakes an accident, and hides the body nearby.

Time passes, but nothing is ever reported about the body. Normally, as it would decompose, this would be a good thing.

Alas, not in the obsessive hands of Denning, who manages, by his interference, to get his daughter's new boyfriend (Sam Wanamaker) involved.

One twist after another. If it had been brilliantly directed, it would have been better. As it was, it still was absorbing and entertaining.

At the end of the film, with the daughter talking so fast, I, who worked as a professional transcriber for years, couldn't understand what she said after repeated listenings. Ditto what she said to her father about Medos. Both of which I wanted to know. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

This is a well crafted story with many a twist. A lot of b movies were made in this era but would surely have made an excellent main feature with plenty to talk about after. Well worth a watch.