Das Haus der sieben Falken

I wasn't expecting anything when I came across this film late one night, but it hooked me from the get-go and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering a new movie that I thought had wit, suspense and intrigue aplenty.

As other positive reviews have noted, it's not a cinematic masterpiece, just a well-written little bit of mystery and adventure-- with quite a good performance from Robert Taylor in a kind of Bogart-esque role as a boat captain based in England whose vessel is chartered by a mysterious man. Before long, our man Nordley (Taylor) has to deal with corpses and plot twists galore, taking him to Holland, where a lot of the film takes place.

The supporting cast includes two beautiful European ladies, Nicole Maurey and Linda Christian, and a fine group of character actors (Donald Wolfit, Eric Pohlmann, David Kossoff, and others).

I really enjoy films like this, set and filmed in European countries, in the 1950s and '60s, that have to do with the still fairly recent World War.

The plot will keep you guessing, and there's drama and a surprising amount of comedy to keep the film entertaining during its roughly 90 minute running time. Richard Thorpe was one of MGM's reliable directors, who had directed Taylor before, and the star seems very comfortable in his role.

I don't know if you'll enjoy it, but I did.

John Nordley (Robert Taylor) sails his boat out of the British port of Baymouth. The authorities suspects him of smuggling to foreign ports. He is hired by older Dutch gentleman Anselm. Anselm surprises him with the destination of Holland without the authorities' knowledge but with a large payment. Anselm dies in his sleep. Upon arriving in Holland, Nordley is met by Anselm's daughter who quickly rummages through the dead body. Nordley had already hidden away the money and other stuff and she finds nothing. At the port, he is met by the police who takes him into custody. The dead man turns out to be police inspector Sluiter and his daughter Constanta was not the one who got on his boat.

This is a B-movie trying to be a cheap Hitchcock thriller. Taylor is treating the situation too lightly. The humor is too slight. I do like the starting premise but the story doesn't build tension. Taylor never lets on that he's in danger. The characters are mostly one dimensional. I would like for the two women to look a lot different. This is an easy thriller and it needs more tension.

A somewhat muddled affair , but its numerous sudden new developments , and the filming on location in the Netherlands make up for it .Aging Robert Taylor had still plenty of go ,and the lines ,sometimes tongue in chick ,doesn't lack in humor : his passenger's famous last words for instance ! The rapport he has with his pal (or is he ?) Charlie is much fun to watch ;the line about the revolver on the boat is irresistible .Towards the end ,with the appearance of the old couple,who lived through WW2 (like the principal) ,the screenplay displays a more human side , when they talk about the wounded soldiers ; the clock is a good trick and justifies the title (one expects the action to take place in this strange place whereas it only appears in the last fifteen minutes )

French Nicole Maurey never became a big star in her native land ;her comings and goings between Paris and Hollywood may explain it.

This movie has twists, in fact the twists have twists, which meant that occassionally I lost the thread a little. But this movie has merit, it is very well characterised throughout and has fascinating Dutch locations.

This is not exactly an excellent drama but it sure is very entertaining. It has elements that remind me of Bogart and features a well written plot and believable characters. I'd happily watch this one every couple of years as, although the plot-line is fairly simple,. it's also quite good. All in all a very entertaining drama definitely upscale from it's B-movie moniker.