Paul Temple's Triumph

This is the third, and the best, of the four Paul Temple films made between 1946 and 1952. They were: SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE, aka THE GREEN FINGER (1946, see my review), starring Anthony Hulme as Temple; CALLING PAUL TEMPLE (1948, see my review), starring John Bentley as Temple as did the next two; this film; and PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS, aka BOMBAY WATERFRONT (its American title) (1952, see my review). In this and the next film, 'Steve' Temple, Paul's wife, is played by Dinah Sheridan, though in the final film she was replaced by Patricia Dainton. The initial film was directed by John Argyle, and the three others were all directed by Maclean Rogers. All are based upon the detective character created by Francis Durbridge, and this film is based upon Durbridge's radio serial 'News of Paul Temple'. All of the films are definitely 'B' pictures without any pretensions. This one is far more interesting than the others and has a more elaborate and interesting story. There is a sinister international criminal organisation known as 'Z' which is headed by an unknown man called 'Z' which steals high technology secrets, particularly those relating to defence, and sells them to the highest bidder. They are ruthless and kill anyone who gets in their way. Temple has to find out who they are and stop them, and at the same time save the life of a kidnapped professor who is nearly finished designing his 'biggest thing since radar during the War'. It is a secret formula for controlling atomic weaponry. There is a race against time and various people get killed along the way. Most of the action and filming take place in the New Forest, which, as everyone knows, has not been 'new' for centuries. There are some interesting shots at Northolt Airfield, which is still used by the military and the Prime Minister but was then an ordinary civilian London airport, prior to the existence of Heathrow and Gatwick. One curious aspect of the film is that whenever someone gets stabbed to death or blown up, Temple and the police inspector merely rush off to deal with the next emergency, and make no apparent effort to secure the scene of the crime, deal with the corpse, collect evidence, or even call the police. I suppose the producer did not wish the film to exceed its 76 minutes and hence its limited budget. Oh well, that's the movies, especially the 'B' movies. But this is a very good way to pass a rainy afternoon, or at least that part of it before teatime. I recommend heavier fare after being fortified by a good cuppa, dontchathink?

A typically fast moving mystery thriller, once thought lost, from one of Francis Durbridge's radio serials 'News of Paul Temple'. Crime fighting duo, mystery writer Paul Temple and his vivacious wife and partner in detection, Steve, find themselves up against a gang headed by an individual known only as 'Z' after one of Steve's friends has been murdered following the kidnapping of her scientist father. It's one of those familiar sounding organisations that "steal state secrets and sell them to the highest bidder".

As in the earlier CALLING PAUL TEMPLE (see my review), John Bentley and Dinah Sheridan are ideal as Durbridge's answer to Nick and Nora Charles. Bentley was perhaps only surpassed in the role by Francis Matthews, star of the BBC series of twenty years later, that was stymied by some abysmal scripts. Again, there's a delightful chemistry with the lovely Dinah Sheridan, who is the most perceptive, lively and charming of Steves. It's a shame she did not stay on for the final entry of the series, PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS, but by then she was in demand for more prestigious productions. There is the usual abundance of red herrings and coincidences and it's not difficult to notice the cliffhangers that closed each radio episode.

Temple can't be doing too badly from his mysteries, as he drives an Aston Martin, a car that wouldn't have been seen too often on the roads of the austerity Britain of 1949/50. Location shooting includes a glimpse of the New Forest as well as Northolt Airport, then being used for commercial flights. Busy character actress Beatrice Varley, who often played downtrodden and lowly women, was far more assertive in this series, holding up men at gunpoint in the first, SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE, while here she's a no nonsense hotel owner with something to hide. Her husband is played by another stalwart, Ben Williams, who seemed to turn up somewhere in every British film of the 1940s and 1950s. Carry On favourite Peter Butterworth makes the most of a small part as a Post Office engineer. Good entertainment from a bygone age.

John Bentley is Paul Temple and Dinah Sheridan is his wife Steve, who are searching for a missing nuclear scientist believed to be kidnapped by a sinister organisation.

This is a densely plotted B film, with plenty of interior scenes that highlights its low budget despite the furs worn by some of the female cast. Still there are shady types hanging around every corner, some even with doped cigarettes. Ah the peril of smoking nicotine.

Despite the short running time, I still found it somewhat flabby and disengaging. Dinah Sheridan was delectable though.

Number three of Nettlefold's 'Paul Temple' potboilers is a garrulous and uninvolving affair until about the halfway mark, when it picks up considerably and the women start wearing the trousers (in the case of Dinah Sheridan's 'Steve', literally).

Despite two of the previous reviewers evoking The Goons in their headings no one so far seems to have noticed that the actress playing the unfortunate Celia (in her only appearance in a feature film), Anne Hayes, continued her run of bad fortune the following year when she became the first Mrs Peter Sellars.

PAUL TEMPLE'S TRIUMPH is the third of four Paul Temple films, shot on the cheap at Nettlefold Studios and adapted from the radio plays by Francis Durbridge. This follows on from the stodgy SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE and the acceptable CALLING PAUL TEMPLE and was followed by PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS, which is my personal favourite of the four.

These films are hampered by a low budget and Maclean Rogers's indifferent execution, but for fans of the era they provide a few thrills. Once again the usual go-to guy, John Bentley, essays the role of Temple with Dinah Sheridan his reliable partner Steve. The plot of this one begins with the kidnapping of a scientist and the subsequent investigation turns up a sinister criminal gang with murder in mind.

PAUL TEMPLE'S TRIUMPH was considered to be a lost film for a while, much like the two TOFF adaptations also starring Bentley. It lacks a decent supporting cast (PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS had the likes of Christopher Lee in support) but it still manages a few good twists along the way, including one ahead-of-its-time shocking moment. And the short running time means that this is one quota quickie that never outstays its welcome.