“A camera gets mysteriously dropped into the open top car of a man, John Gray, returning from holiday. On finding the camera he develops the pictures which leads him to a pretty girl, a lost brother and eventually a murder. This is an entertaining picture with good performances and excellent cinematography by Ernest Palmer and editing by David Lean. Not a shot is wasted and the some of the dialogue is very amusing.
Playing John Gray is Henry Kendall and he is a joy, a shy gentleman who is always talking, a timid man who gets braver. Adding to the fun are Victor Stanley as his cheeky cockney assistant, Ida Lupino as the delightful damsel in distress and the great Felix Aylmer as a coroner. Davina Craig also shines as the gormless maid. John Mills acts as the brother in this his third film of a long career in movies.
I also learned a bit of rhyming slang completely unknown to me; a holy friar…meaning a liar.”
Yes, Starmer the holy friar, must remember that.
Some early 1930s crime films keep up a good pace and are surprisingly entertaining. There is a marked contrast between the light-hearted approach we see here and the darker, more sinister films which came later. The looming threat of war perhaps.
……
JH: Certainly was, AKH … we can almost mark the change to darker … in music it became more … oh, blended, individuality gone.