krocheav This Individual film production, is about as individual as UK made films from this era ('46') can get. The story by Christinna Brand, the screenplay adaptation by Sidney Gilliat and Claud Gurney, the photographic direction by Wilkie Cooper (Jason and the Argonauts '61) assisted by cameraman Oswald Morriss (later to become respected D.O.P. and Director in his own right), along with fabulous lighting and sets, combine to make this one a stand out.The all too little seen and known Sally Grey (Silent Dust '48 ~ Obsession '49) here again proves why she was so highly regarded. Add the always reliable Trevor Howard, Leo Genn, Alastair Sim and a full support cast of sterling players and you can't lose. Respected producer Frank Lauder then tops all this talent off with crackerjack director Sidney Gilliat (State Secret '50 - Gilliat for my money was superior to Hitchcock and had previously contributed to several Hitchcock films). Today's TV programmers have a limited knowledge of these early gems so they are little seen.If you have a passion for quality British movies from the past then this could be for you.....if not yet seen, don't miss out any longer. The Beyond DVD release from a few years back is OK, but I understand there maybe a better quality 'studio' release available these days. KenR...............

edwagreen Even the presence of master thespians Leo Genn and Trevor Howard can't solve this 1946 film,which was nothing more than a rather cheap take-off on Alfred Hitchcock's types of films.Mayhem seems to break out at a remote British hospital when a patient dies suddenly and a nurse who realized this was murder soon follows him.Everyone concerned are counted as suspects. The ending is ridiculous with carbon dioxide the culprit, used by the killer instead of oxygen. The real murderer is briefly psychoanalyzed. That's what's needed for this film.Alastair Dim is sent in to investigate this madness. By film's end, he has erred and submits his resignation, which he hopes shall be accepted. This film's makers should have submitted theirs as well.

secondtake Green for Danger (1946)With such a tightly interwoven plot and great cast, directed with precision, and filmed in a German Expressionist style to beat the band, it's amazing this doesn't have a larger reputation. It does start a little ambiguously, with some fast talking, but even here, with V1 rockets dropping and high stakes life and death operating room dramas (and love affairs) in the works, it's pretty amazing stuff.Alastair Sims is the narrator, and he arrives in person after the first third, changing the tenor of the movie, and adding exactly the right humor and cleverness to the soap opera dramatics of the rest of the nurses and doctors in this British enclave. We are told in the first minutes that three murders will happen, and then, one by one, they do. But we never anticipate exactly who or how, and as a classic British whodunit, this is among the best.Director Sidney Gilliat is better known (if known is the word at all here in America) as a producer (with Frank Launder) and a writer (including for several famous films directed by other directors like Alfred Hitchcock). But his feel for the movies, and for directing at the highest level, is shown here handily, especially in his keeping the logic of the complicated plot clear even as it swirls visually, and with lots of actors each with important roles. It's quite a treat to watch, and you could probably watch it twice in a row and enjoy it more the second time.Of course, what most mysteries have against them as great literature, or great movies, is their built in avoidance of depth of feeling, or of meaning. But not everything is Shakespeare, and as riveting, moving entertainment, it's hard to get any better.

evanston_dad A superb, morbidly funny WWII-era murder mystery set in the makeshift hospital of a small English village.A postman injured during a bombing dies inexplicably while being prepped for surgery, even though his condition was not life threatening. Enter a cocky and irascible private detective (Alastair Sim), who believes one of the five medical personnel who had a hand in the surgery is a murderer.Forget trying to figure this one out ahead of time. In classic murder mystery fashion, the motive for the murder comes out of left field at the very end. No, the fun here is in the journey, and in Sim's scene-stealing performance as a detective in love with his own abilities. The movie has a delicious twist at the end that has to do more with Sim's detective (and said abilities) than with the murder suspect.A wonderful, overlooked film. Thanks to Criterion for releasing it and bringing it to people's attention.Grade: A