The House Of Blackmail [DVD]
- Brand: Unbranded
Description
opens well, but as soon as it moves to Markham’s mansion its action becomes a trifle stilted, Mary Germaine, as Carol, displays good looks and obvious acting ability, and William Sylvester, although a little too sure of himself, registers as Jimmy, but the rest are a very mixed bag. THE HOUSE OF BLACKMAIL (1953), starring William Sylvester, a likeable American actor with an elegant and throwaway style that's ideal for this Agatha Christie-like who-dunnit, about a group of people holed up in a country manor, each suspecting the others of murdering a blackmailer.
She drives to Markham's country house and en route picks up hitchhiker Jimmy, who agrees to pose as her lawyer. Mary Germaine is great though, and there are some attempts at lightness of touch which raises this above the average B potboiler of the time. A great little British Crime Drama shot in just Ten days, tracing the activities of the gang of crooks whose long run of successful coups has the police in a panic.An Army officer (William Sylvester) and Carol (Mary Germaine) must solve the murder of a blackmailer or be charged themselves in this British crime drama directed by Maurice Elvey. It’s about the characters’ interaction – not wanting to be alone or with any of the others either – and also keeps us guessing as to whether Jimmy is the escaped prisoner or not.
BBFC: Release Date: 05/10/2015 Run Time: 193 minutes Languages: English LPCM Mono Subtitles: None DVD Regions: Region 0 (All) Formats: Pal Aspect Ratio: Full Screen 1.Jimmy agrees to accompany Carol to the house and pose as her lawyer in an attempt to unnerve Markham. The latter has a touch of Michael Wilding about him and subsequently went on to considerable success in the US, notably playing opposite Audrey Hepburn in Gigi on Broadway. As usual, Alexander Gauge is wonderfully erudite as the disreputable Markham, another of his reasonable-criminal roles, while the British actor John Arnatt displays a convincing American accent as the man who takes charge. The film is quite fast paced and benefits from having humour throughout, although there isn’t really much tension and the actual investigation is a bit laborious. A blackmailer is murdered, and the police find that there is a long list of suspects who wanted to see him dead.
- Fruugo ID: 258392218-563234582
- EAN: 764486781913
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