Walk a Tightrope

Dan Duryea is Lutcher, an unstable and violent drifter. The good news, which he tells his girlfriend, is that he has a job. The bad news, which he doesn't, is that it is to kill someone. Patricia Owens plays Ellen, the devoted wife of Jason, who is traumatised when Lutcher bursts in and shoots him, and even worse, insistently accuses her of paying him to do it.

This is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing right to the end. Dan Duryea is at his best, particularly in the scene in the magistrates' court; no matter how unsympathetic his character may be, he can't help but make you smile. Owens is convincing in the difficult role of Ellen, while the unfortunate Jason is Terence Cooper, one of the least known Bonds, in the Sixties' CASINO ROYALE. Canadian born actor Neil McCallum, responsible for the script from a story by New York writer Mann Rubin, as well as playing prosecuting counsel, was shortly to become a household name as one of the stars of the BBC Mafia series, VENDETTA. There's also the perennial plain-clothes officer of British B movies, Trevor Reid, a role he tended to share with the not dissimilar Ballard Berkeley. A poverty row production, maybe, but a compelling and entertaining little film as well.

Five years earlier Patricia Owens was found next to the corpse of her husband in 'The Fly'. The law are called in again when she suffers a similar misfortune in this enjoyable potboiler shot on attractive early sixties London locations with an atmospheric piano score by Buxton Orr.

I was watching out for twists along the way, and found the final revelation when it eventually came highly satisfying.

Ignore the bad reviews, most of which seem to be written by people who just don't like grim B&W thrillers from 1960s England. This is, in fact, a briskly paced but gripping British film noir with an amazing final scene twist that forces you to see the whole film from a different perspective. With strong performances from the great Dan Duryea and Patricia Owens, the film explores the class and gender biases of the early 1960s British judicial system, as well as telling a great story with many twists and turns. Also of great interest is the fact that much of the film was shot on location in and around Strand on the Green and Isleworth in south west London. I don't know if the white pub is still there, but if so I would love to visit it. I first saw this gem of a film on Talking Pictures TV, but I only caught the second half so missed much of the narrative detail. A couple of years later I finally managed to track it down and was delighted to discover it is still available on DVD.

If the makers had known what they were about, they'd have had Dan Duryea sit in a chair and read the script to camera. Every time they shift to the stiff British players or the obvious studio settings, attention drops.

This one is no worse than the run quota filling first half thrillers that were being poured out of British studios at the time though it has the same glum view of human nature and unconvincing intonations. These were, despite the protestations of those who saw a living out of them, made by people who'd rather do something else, for theaters who'd rather show something else and played to audiences who considered coming in at interval to just see the big picture.

Apart from Duryea, WALK A TIGHTROPE has Pat Owens memorable for her lead in LAW & JAKE WADE and unforgettable in her number in HELL TO ETERNITY and is filmed by the cameraman of DRIFTERS. The makers' attempts to induce style, in material like the sustained shot of Owens with voices over, fail miserably. Details like the London cab are jammed in to catch a U.S. audience. The first time director does his best.

"Walk a Tightrope" from 1964 is a British B film starring Dan Duryea and Patricia Owens.

Duryea plays a criminal, Lutcher, who tells his girlfriend (Shirley Cameron) that he has a job. We see him shadowing the wife of an architect, Ellen (Owens). She arrives home with her husband and his partner. The partner goes upstairs. Lutcher walks in and shoots Ellen's husband (Terence Cooper).

Ellen collapses, which causes Lutcher to act surprised. He wants the rest of his money - after all, she's the one that hired him to kill her husband. The devastated Ellen vehemently denies this.

Duryea is wonderful, and this will keep you guessing until the end. As far as the actress playing his girlfriend, Shirley Cameron, I didn't understand one word that came out of her mouth.

Otherwise really interesting.