4.1
Novelist and amateur sleuth, Paul Temple, meets a newspaper woman called "Steve." Together they investigate a gang of diamond robbers.
Anthony Hulme
Paul Temple
Joy Shelton
Steve Trent
Tamara Desni
Diana Thornley
Jack Raine
Sir Graham Forbes
Beatrice Varley
Miss Amelia Marchment
Hylton Allen
Dr. Milton
Maire O'Neill
Mrs. Neddy
Michael Golden
Dixie
Richard Shayne
Chief Inspector Richard Dale
Director, Screenplay
John Argyle
Screenplay
Francis Durbridge
February 10, 2023
6
Looking at the style of this production, you wouldn't really have to guess it was based on characters originally created for the wireless. The production is very precise, static almost as we witness the eponymous amateur sleuth (Anthony Hulme) try to get to the bottom of some diamond thievery and of the mysterious death of a police constable working on these heists. Along the way he enlists the help of the dead man's girlfriend - a journalist who uses the moniker "Steve" (Joy Shelton) and pretty soon they are embroiled in a clever and dangerous plot hiding in plain sight. What does make this work is the writing - the story requires us to engage our own grey cells a bit if we are to get any satisfaction from the otherwise rather pedestrian presentation. We are given some clues, some red herrings and the actors sort of act as guides as we try to solve the mystery for ourselves. I reckon this would have worked just as well on the radio, but on film it is an enjoyable enough mystery that over-stretches a bit long - at eighty minutes - but is still worth a watch.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00