L'assassin court toujours

I'm a big fan of John Mills, he's made some masterpieces in his time. Sadly, "Mr. Denning Drives North" isn't one of them. The plot can't seem to decide whether to focus on Mills and his mental strain after the tragic events from the film's beginning, or on Sam Wanamaker as the ambitious solicitor who's determined to unravel the truth about John Mills's plight. Frankly, I grew quite irritated with the film. The opening 15 minutes offered a vague hint of something which might have been good. Alas, this was not the case. The conclusion is one of the most ridiculous I've ever seen - and there are plenty to choose from! The supporting cast are wasted. The likes of Raymond Huntley, Wilfred Hyde White and Herbert Lom have little to do. Why couldn't the scriptwriter incorporate their characters into the story properly? John Mills does his best with such bland material and he's the only reason to give this film so much as a side glance.

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.

Well I stayed and watched this film unfold. Charming period drama albeit a bit too clever and today such racial stereotypes would not be tolerated. However as it was 1951 we can forgive the essential prejudice that is necessary for the plot to remain plausible. I liked it and will watch again. A very fine film that has aged better than many. I liked the many actors in this that went on to become regular names in films and TV. Take bow all of you. It was an amazing watch and great twist at the very end that made me smile. A fine denouement. No idea why this bombed in the UK it was good enough and better than so much out there at the time. Do watch this. But park your sense of justice and go with out all.

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.

Is this Hitchcock incognito or the Hitch you have when not having Hitch? I'm not always a fan of Hitch but I could imagine him wishing he might have made this movie. Mr Denning certainly offers more than a fair share of suspense and visual challenges to keep the viewer intrigued, and just when it looks like it's all sorted it rolls backwards to challenge us over again. There's also a smart script by the original story writer Alec Coppel (Vertigo)

It offers nice touches, excitement, good performances (from a fine cast), and some stylish direction and cinematography to keep the mind and eye alert. Whether it ends quite right is up to your own thoughts, but it's so well done you can hardly mind. The new Netwerk transfer to DVD is most pleasing with sharp quality B/W and reasonably priced.