Calling Paul Temple

Once again, the assistance of crime novelist Paul Temple, recently married to 'Steve' Trent is required by Scotland Yard. They're baffled by a particularly repulsive character signing himself 'Rex' who blackmails women then murders them.

This scores over the other two films in the series I've seen, SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE and PAUL TEMPLE RETURNS, not least for the enjoyable performances of John Bentley and Dinah Sheridan who were ideal as Paul and Steve; there's a real chemistry and sense of fun and romance between them. Bentley was very much at home in this kind of role, evoking that air of cheerful authority that Roger Moore was later able to bring to his portrayal of The Saint and interpretation of James Bond. Exquisitely beautiful Dinah Sheridan lights up the screen in a sparkling performance with her diverting, amusing repartee with Paul and benefits from a script that gives Steve an equal role in tracking down the killer, discovering several vital clues. By comparison, in the BBC TV Paul Temple series, made at the turn of the 1970s, Steve had little to do, with the producers considering writing her out altogether at one point. It all gets off to a flying start with Celia Lipton - whatever happened to her? - as the nightclub vocalist, de rigueur in this kind of British B, falling dramatically down the stairs in the middle of her second number, Steve Race's "What's Cooking in Cabaret?". I've seen acts die before, but not like this. From then on there's red herrings galore as suspicion falls on most of the characters in turn, played by some admirable actors including Abraham Sofaer as a therapist, his mysterious secretary Mrs. Trevelyan (Margaretta Scott) and salesman Hugh Pryse, who could almost be a younger, Welsh, relation of Alastair Sim. Good old Wally Patch is Temple's underworld grass Spider Williams; he also supported Bentley in the two films featuring John Creasey's hero The Toff, both also directed by Maclean Rogers and now apparently lost. There's time for some fascinating glimpses of Canterbury as it was then, and for Paul and Steve to be tied up in a cellar with the water rising remorselessly. Then the time-honoured denouement with all the suspects gathered together in one room and finally an almighty punch-up between Temple and the villain, to a reprise of the melodramatic title music. Great escapist fun 1940s style.

The second Paul Temple film and John Bentley's first in the role begins with an atmospheric scene on a train possibly inspired by 'A Study in Scarlet' and towards the end has elements that had been employed in the 'Dr Mabuse' films.

Between whiles we get shootings, an explosion, and a closeup of a corpse with open eyes fifteen years before Herschel Gordon Lewis claimed to have pioneered it. Yet it remains for the most part talky, overlong and dull; and only carried a 'A' certificate when first released.

The film's biggest extravagances appear to have been the ladies' wardrobes and sending the leads on a day trip to Canterbury (during which passers by can be seen looking at the camera).

Like many films based on radio plays; the writing tends to forget we also have images to process too and so they run a bit to language. This gentle detective murder-mystery falls into that trap and the wordy dialogue robs the thing of pace somewhat. That said, John Bentley and Dinah Sheridan deliver engaging, cheery performances as they are brought in by Scotland Yard to assist in the search for "Rex" - a mysterious blackmailer/murderer who is preying on women. Features some eerily lit scenes in Canterbury which add significantly to the tenseness of the drama with some hypnotism and fisticuffs at the end.

I'm giving this a 6 because I like British mysteries. I was not familiar with the actors, except perhaps Dinah Sheridan. I was interested to read that the lead actors all lived into their nineties. Wow.

This film apparently is part of a series of B movies based on a radio show. Paul Temple is a dlfictiin writer of detective stories who is attempting to learn the identity of "Rex," a person who has killed several women.

In this film nearly everyone is a suspect. The most interesting thing about the film is the trip to Canterbury, which was fascinating. I'm not sure the cast was really there, but the footage was great.

In the end, not knowing any of the actors, I had a tough time telling the men apart. Therefore after sitting through this I don't know who Rex was. Good luck.

CALLING PAUL TEMPLE is the second of four feature films starring radio detective Paul Temple, who along with his sidekick Steve (a woman) investigates various murders and crimes at the behest of Scotland Yard. This follows on from the sub-standard debut feature SEND FOR PAUL TEMPLE and was followed by the rarely-seen PAUL TEMPLE'S TRIUMPH.

The story is a straightforward one of murder and intrigue as Temple and Steve find themselves hot on the trail of a murderer by the name of Rex. Rex specialises in bumping people off at random, often when they're just about to reveal his identity; shades of THE 39 STEPS with the Mr. Memory assassination. Still, this is a well-paced and enjoyable little affair, with plenty of red herrings and suspense to recommend it.

It's not a perfect film by any means. Just after the arresting opening, things slow down for an endless nightclub song routine which seems to go on for about twenty minutes. Afterwards the plotting is a little crammed due to this endless filler material. Still, John Bentley and Dinah Sheridan have plenty of chemistry as the crime-fighting duo, and fans will find this reasonably entertaining.