The Roof

I'm inserting reviews for films I've see that lack one, this obscurity, it currently hasn't registered 5 votes, was shown on Talking Pictures a new free channel on Sky, review follows... Minor British crime thriller from the early days of sound, so rather static, a few chaps, and or villains having a chat! The plot involves a collection of very valuable jewels, as the criminals try to get hold of them, the structure is a bit odd, early on the scene switches from the imminent onset of WW1 to the present (1933) day, I thought something had been cut till I checked the running time. The only familiar crew or cast name, is the great George Zucco (who made about 15 films in the UK before going to Hollywood in '36) here playing to type as a gentleman, I like early British films, and G.Zucco, if you do, give this a go. Good.

THE ROOF is an odd and unsuccessful little British murder mystery from the early days of talky cinema. Most of the film consists of a group of guys sitting around in a club discussing finances and the like, which doesn't make for much entertainment value, but later on a murder plot and the theft of some diamonds adds to the intrigue a bit.

The plot begins in 1914 as various concerned characters discuss the prospect of the impending war and its impact upon them. Bizarrely, the story then skips forward some twenty years to the then-present day, where the identity of a murderer must be solved. I have to say that the material is really sub par and the only thing of interest is a minor role for screen villain George Zucco, who doesn't get much screen time anyway. Otherwise, it's a bore.

I was quite pleasantly surprised by this simple little crime caper. It's all centred around the investigations of "Insp. Darrow" (Leslie Perrins) who has to look into the death of a wealthy man with no shortage of suspects. To add to the intrigue, there are two timelines with the Great War in the middle, and what appears to be a dwindling collection of precious jewels left in trust for the man's son, as the search for the truth hots up. It cannot have had much of a budget, nor a timeframe for shooting - and at times the style of presentation is distinctly static, but it doesn't hang around for just shy of an hour and as an early-ish example of a British talkie is actually quite watchable.

Jewels left in trust, a master criminal trying to get his hands on them, trustee George Zucco murdered, and Inspector Leslie Perrins of Scotland Yard pursuing the murderer and swindler in this movie directed by George Cooper with an all-star cast.

That's a little much to expect from Julius Hagen in one of his quota quickies, even if the assertion is made in the credits. Even so, it's a well acted little thriller in which the question is not apparently who dunnit it, but whether Perrins can catch Michael Hogan and associates before they get their hands on the valuables, and split it..... or even if all them survive to get their shares. Besides the fellows listed above, there's Judy Gunn in her screen debut at the bottom of the credits, and a number of respectable lesser players. DP Sydney Blythe gets one nice shot in, with Cooper directing efficiently on a Quota Quickie budget, and a script with a long prologue meant to bring it up to second feature length.

The opening credits of this film state that it has "An all star cast"'However what this actually means is the opposite.The best known actor is George Zucco,who only appears briefly.The rest are actors such as I for Bernard and Elliott Markham who are basically character actors. As has been mentioned in the other review this is rather a strange film,and I have to say that I struggled to follow the plot,though basically it is about missing jewels and murder.The problem is that the film fast forwards from 1914 to 1933.It becomes rather problematic to what has happened before with what has happened in the past.The murderer is unmasked but meets quick justice.In this instance brevity is a virtue.