I don't know much about Edgar Wallace's original novel, not one of his better known works, but given its alternative title, The Gaol Breakers, it doesn't seem likely it had much connection with what is on offer here. Alva is the vicious and controlling wife of a civil airline pilot, she also has a phobia about bees. With a whole casebook of psychological problems, she would have been more at home in an episode of The Human Jungle under the guidance of Herbert Lom's Dr. Roger Corder, a series that was wrapping up at about the time this film was shot. Like many British second features, it has some good acting and Faith Brook is excellent as Alva, bringing out her vulnerability and evoking some sense of pity for an otherwise deeply unlikeable character. Sadly there is very little suspense and tension and far too much talk, so for a thriller it's not very thrilling.
