Tod auf Abruf

Robert Ayres writes his suicide note, puts it on the mantle and goes out, where he is met by men who take him to Alan Wheatley. Since Ayres doesn't value his life, Wheatley wishes to buy an option on it. He is about to begin a vast scheme to mulct a large sum of money. Ayres will act as a front. Should the authorities come calling, Wheatley will flee with the money and Ayres will kill himself, leaving no trail. Ayres agrees. He takes the large salary and sets it up in a trust for his daughter. But a year later, Ayres has written a good novel and meets June Thorburn. They are in love.

It's a nice variation on those stories where someone has hired a murderer to kill him, produced by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman. It's offered in a competent production, and the story grows snarled towards the end, with double cross and character change. Although there is nothing startlingly cinematic about it, everyone in front of and behind the camera performs ably, producing a nice little thriller.