The Share Out

I have to disagree quite strongly with the other review. The narrative of this film is most certainly not one we have seen a million times or more. It is highly original and well worth describing.

A gang of high class corporate thieves use blackmail to induce their victims to sell property at knock-down prices. The victims refuse to talk to the police. A police inspector is aware of the racket and persuades a shifty private investigator to work for the gang while reporting back to him. The P. I. joins the crooks, none of whom trusts the others, and each of them tries to enlist his services for their own exclusive advantage. There are two murders and it is not clear until the last surprise twist scene who committed the second murder.

The Share-Out has an excellent cast including Alexander Knox and Bernard Lee. As with all these Edgar Wallace films, the story unfolds quickly and the audience is never bored.

One of the hour-long Edgar Wallace adaptations that filled British cinemas in the early 1960s. This one is a short and snappy affair - unsurprisingly - with an original plot involving a gang of thieves. No jewel or bank robberies for these guys, just blackmail plots and murder. A good cast is headed by Bernard Lee and the whole thing packs in the twists and surprises throughout.