Rogue's Yarn

The opening scene between Derek Bond and Nicole Maurey was so stilted I fully expected it to be revealed to be a scene from a play in front of an audience.

But no, it was the actual plot being hatched; and throughout the film stagy dialogue scenes indoors were punctuated by the occasional breath of fresh air provided by scenes shot outdoors; especially those where director Vernon Sewell was permitted to indulge his evident love of boats. Fortunately the plot is sufficiently interesting to continue holding your attention until the dramatic final shot of Ms Maurey (on board a boat, naturally).

The resemblance of Elwyn Brook-Jones's pipe-smoking detective to Columbo has already been pointed out. But Sewell evidently also had in mind insurance investigator Barton Keyes in 'Double Indemnity'; which is actually name-checked at one point by a character who says of Bond "If this was a movie I'd say he dunnit!" and that "If Edward G. Robinson were here he'd have the murderer!!"

Derek Bond has a waspish wife who is bedridden. He's carrying on an affair with Nicole Maurey, who wants to know when he's going to get a divorce and they can be together. He doesn't want a divorce, so he murders her with an airtight alibi: he was at sea piloting his boat to France at the time. This looks like a great alibi, since we see him docking the boat and having French Inspector Jean Serret tell him about his wife's murder, even though we have already seen him climbing out of the sea to murder the missus.

Very clever. It takes Inspector Elwyn Brook-Jones about thirty minutes to crack the alibi, but he needs proof to get a warrant for Bond's arrest. Can he do it over the objections of his superior? With the physical evidence show up in time? Frankly, I never had any doubt.

Not a very compelling film at all, I erroneously believed it was from the late thirties, perhaps an English suspense drama. Upon looking it up, I see it is from 1956! Inexcusably dull film.

Derek Bond as the husband agrees with his French mistress Nicole Maurey that he will kill his invalid wife so they can be together. He devises 'an ingenious plot' by making sure he is seen voyaging out in a yacht, racing back in a rented speedboat or something, murdering her, then hurrying back, establishing his alibi. Apparently automatic pilot was still a bit of a novelty as that seemed to be the evidence that turned the tide. French witnesses to an unidentified speedboat and a gas fume leak in the yacht were also little tidbits to pay attention to. Pity Hitchcock couldn't have gotten hold of this one.

Bond sought to off the Inspector with that gas fume leak on the yacht when he lit a match but the Inspector was out of matches. Suddenly Maurey was shocked by the man she saw. Why, when she had pushed him into murdering his wife? Maurey and Bond are for some reason listed as the stars but the investigating detectives were more compelling to watch.

Look for 'Double Indemnity' instead.

A mildly interesting B pic that pitches itself as an inferior version of the classic Double Indemnity but without the clout. Enough plot holes to formulate Swiss cheese - would the vessel really maintain its course without diversion or collision while our antihero (Derek Bond) swims back to shore in a pair of big pants, does away with his nagging wife, catches the (hopefully considerably faster) ferry to Le Havre, gets on another boat and then steers his original boat into harbour in fully suited glory? Hmmmm.

As mentioned in previous reviews, the real star is a rather dour, seemingly humourless, portly, pipe-smoking ( this last point significant) and persistent detective played by the little-known Elwyn Brook-Jones, who brings some unexpected charisma to the role as the investigating Detective, backed up by his Sergeant (Hugh Latimer) who plays it for laughs in true "silly ass" style. Overall not a bad time waster but no classic.

Vernon must have been a fan of Freeman Wills Crofts. The detective here could easily have been Inspector French - a portly pipe-smoker determinedly dismantling an alibi involving a devilish bit of engineering on a means of transport. He gets stuck but finally makes the breakthrough. He needs to travel to France, three times I think. He responds with stoicism to the doubts of his superior. A little more affability would have made the match perfect. There is surely a debt here to Crofts.