A Case for PC 49

Another early Hammer production watched for the "House of Hammer" podcast "A Case for PC49" is the follow up to "The Adventures of PC 49 Investigating The Case of the Guardian Angel". I found that film to be a bit better, technically, than the other Hammer films from the late 1940's but with a slow story that rallied a bit for it's conclusion. This, almost twice as long as that film, again had some appealing moments, but ultimately a story that wasn't interesting enough.

Della Dainton (Christine Norden) is a model and femme fatale who, with her boyfriend, the gangster Victor Palantine (Leslie Bradley) comes up with a scheme to murder her ex for his inheritance. Their plan involves a policeman to be on site to act as witness and alibi and, using a fake threat on her life, they are provided with PC Berkeley-Willoughby, the titular PC 49 (Brian Reece). Their plan would work perfectly, except for a vital clue that could unravel the scheme and which ends up in the hands of PC49's fiancé Joan (Joy Shelton).

Whilst not as technically sound as the Dick Barton film that came out this same year, the version of the film that I saw on Youtube was reasonably accomplished, from a sound recording point of view particularly. There were some humorous moments, mostly revolving around Miss Dainton's appearance, the effect she has on PC49 and Joan's reaction to it. Christine Norden's performance is good, as are the turns from Jack Stewart and Michael Balfour as two of Palantine's heavies that become dissatisfied with their lot in this scheme. Brian Reece has replaced Hugh Latimer as PC49 himself, and he shifts the character into a broader comedic range than before. Having never heard the radio series, I can't speak as to which performer is providing a more faithful version of the character.

It did struggle to maintain my interest through, particularly once the set-up work had been done and I drifted in an out of the last two thirds of it. Dick Barton, for me, is never troubled by his on the beat brother.

Oh and "My Sunday Helmet" absolutely needs to be a euphemism.

Hammer adapted another BBC radio production with the PC49 stories. In their second movie, Brian Reece takes over the role and he and played him on the radio.

Archibald Berkeley-Willoughby better known as PC49 is a bit of a buffoon. He gets a chance to on a special mission. He will guard model Della Dainton who has got threatening letters from her ex boyfriend.

Only PC49 is being set up. Della and her gangster boyfriend Victor Palantine plan to kill her ex by making out that he is trying to break into Della's home. PC49 will be present but out of sight and Della will inherit her ex boyfriend's money.

PC49's fiancé Joan Carr (Joy Shelton) comes across a vital clue. The threatening letter was written several years ago. She goes to confront Della Dainton on her own but she is overpowered by Palantine.

PC49 has to save Joan and expose Della and Palantine. Only to find someone has killed Palantine. He was double crossed by a couple of his own minions.

This is a weak offering. Joan decides to take it on herself and take a vital clue to challenge Della Dainton on her own. She was lucky not be killed. Even PC49 never goes to his colleagues for help.

This is a quote quickie, the story never makes much sense but it is pacy.

When I was a youngster, 'PC 49', along with 'Dick Barton, Special Agent',all the 'Paul Temple' series, were almost compulsory listening to almost everyone in the country. As per usual, the BBC, along with almost everything else worth saving destroyed the recordings. How many of the radio comedy shows of the 40s and 50s remain,( 'Variety Bandbox', 'Up the Pole', 'Take it from Here', Eric Barker, 'Just Fancy' remain, and how much Max Miller material is still around? Nowadays,hardly anything is worth saving, so naturally, this modern tripe will still be available in 100 years time! No-one will want to listen to it, as we will have ' moved on' by that time.

Anyone at the BBC on more than ' national minimum wage' is overpaid!

Fashion model Christine Norden gets a threatening letter from an old boyfriend, so Reece gets sent in to guard her in plain clothes and witnesses his death .... or does he? Reece's girlfriend, Joy Shelton, has her doubts, and pursues the case, and opens a can of worms.

For the first half of the movie, it seems like it's half silly and half stupid, but there are enough bits to let the viewer know that something else is going on, and there's a pretty good twist two-thirds of the way through. Although PC 49 is a kind-hearted lummox, and clearly incompetent to be more than a beat bobby, Miss Shelton makes a pretty good tec at the end. The final confrontation also has some fine noirish cinematography by Walter J. Harvey, It's never more than a second feature, but it's a satisfying example, with lots of plot and good camera-work -- although whoever chose the stock music didn't think too hard about the choices.

This was one of those unusual sequels: better than the original. It was the 2nd attempt at putting the adventures of PC 49 onto the screen, transferred from BBC radio, the 1st being filmed 2 years before in 1949. In those 2 years Hammer had come on by leaps and bounds with higher production values, better actors and acting and most of all better scripts. This still means that it creaks and abounds with those moments that contemporary serious people love to deride, so apart from it appealing to wide-eyes like me it can also draw cynical wasters too.

Meanwhile the plot is cohesive and absorbing: jewel heist complements and is a screen for an elaborate murder-of-a-millionaire plan, the hifalutin murderers themselves get targeted by their lower class drones who concoct their own elaborately vicious plan in revenge. Into this morass of immorality comes hook-nosed Brian Reece playing lanky PC 49 and Joy Shelton playing his astute fiancée Joan, who are playing their own hunches despite being continually handicapped by the staid unimagination of the Met police hierarchy. They needed an Inspector with the brains of Claude Teal, stolid Gordon McLeod had to suffice instead … Michael Ripper was here again this time as a reforming ex-con, but didn't he do life at Hammer? Favourite bits: the glamorous scenes in sexy Della's swanky penthouse apartment - how tastes have changed; The baddie contemplating the necessity of polishing off Joan but not enjoying one bit socking her on the jaw. The popular radio series ran for 112 episodes from 1947 to 1953, the BBC destroyed all but 2 editions and of course makes sure that no one will ever hear them.

To the believer, seventy-five minutes that can be well spent over and over again in the non-taxing company of some old friends, if you hated it kiss those seventy-five minutes goodbye forever!