The Broken Horseshoe

Anyone who is interested in the atmosphere of Post-War Two tawdriness in London should watch these ' minor ' films of the early 1950's. Robert Beatty who was often seen on the screen then is always watchable, and he is good as a doctor who gets embroiled in criminal activities, and with a woman played by the underrated Elizabeth Sellars who has a mysterious past. The plot centres on supposed aid for Polish refugees called ' The Broken Horseshoe ' and the twists and turns of murders surrounding it. A clever plot but the film is really watchable for the good acting and the ' rich ' and cluttered apartments of the time and the ' poor ' apartments for those who are struggling under rationing and low paid jobs. Robert Beatty epitomises the former while Vida Hope ( a fine character actor of the period and responsible for producing the original production of ' The Boy Friend ' ) shows us the latter. Darkened rooms, even darker streets try to hide the slow recovery in the UK, and it is well shown in this film. Repression in every area and crime perhaps partly because of it is conveyed. A good film for those interested in the past, and films of the time are indispensable for showing social history.

I enjoyed the acting performances of Elizabeth Sellars playing the alluring, sophisticated, femme fatale, Della Freeman as well as Roger Delgardo, who is cast as Felix Galegos, the slippery, dastardly villain, a role which he reprised in countless films. However, the rest of the cast are unremarkable and move around like mannequins to pad out the cast. Robert Beatty plays Roger Fenton, a chain smoking, naive and highly gullible doctor, who's drawn into a spider's web of intrigue involving the doping of horses. Fenton's fascination with the delightful Della Freeman, seriously affects his thinking with the result he puts himself in the frame as a murderer. Robert Beatty handles his role well as the spellbound doctor, but the storyline allows him and Sellars, little room for romance, not even a kiss or an embrace. Beatty was a trustworthy and solid regular of British films in the 40's and 50's who later appeared as a detective in the TV series, 'Dial 999.' 'The Broken Horseshoe' is a worthy, but cheaply made budget film, which doesn't inspire, as there is far too much talk and barely any action. One of those films to watch out of curiosity on a cold, wet afternoon.

A talky but good looking Butchers quickie based on a Francis Durbridge serial embellished with a noisy faux Rachmaninov score by Wilfred Burns, handsome photography by Gerald Gibbs, handsome leads in Robert Beatty and Elizabeth Sellars and amusing cameos from the likes of Frank Atkinson and Vida Hope.

THE BROKEN HORSESHOE is a low budget British thriller filmed at Nettlefold Studios and distributed by the reliable Butcher's Films. Unfortunately it's one of their lesser outings, a largely uninteresting mystery yarn which sees a hospital doctor become both a murder suspect and an amateur sleuth as he attempts to solve the mysterious death of one of his patients.

Unsurprisingly, this is a sluggish, talky affair, notable only for some of the performances of the supporting players. While the main actors are rather stiff, there's a stand-out turn from a debuting Roger Delgado playing a rather sinister character; you can see why Delgado became a familiar face on our screens in the years to come as his performance is assured and confident. There's even a role for Ferdy Mayne (THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KLLERS) playing the chap whose murder kickstarts the whole plot. But the storyline is distinctly average, the events of the plot feel rather quaint, and as a whole this hasn't dated as well as other material from the era.

Notes Surgeon Doctor Fenton operates on a hit and run victim, saving his life with ground breaking, new medication. Soon after saving his life, Fenton is implicated in the man's murder.

What a thoroughly enjoyable, neat mystery this film is, another pleasing brain teaser from Francis Durbridge. This film is well acted, well paced and full of Durbridge's distinct cleverness.

It's a very elegant looking film, the cars, the sets, the fashions, it just looks wonderful, I adore the 1950's.

Robert Beattie is so good in the lead, I've been watching him in Dial 999 recently, a good presence, lots of character, and a very distinctive voice and accent.

Durbridge would go on to have many successful years ahead, Paul Temple, Melissa, The Passenger and many more. Agatha Christie's work quite rightly continues to remain current to this day, I wish someone would resurrect Durbridge's wonderful stories.

It's taken me a long time to get hold of this film, it's been out of print for some time, and never gets shown.

8/10.