L'uomo dietro la maschera

Lord Peter Gawthorne has just bought an antique relic for his collection. Little does he know that others want it, and are willing to kill for it. This means that his daughter, Jane Baxter, is kidnapped. As she is supposed to marry Hugh Williams, this involves him. Especially as the police are looking for him as a murderer.

There are more than twenty minutes missing from this movie. This, no doubt, increases its melodramatic air. It certainly makes it somewhat incoherent, despite an interesting cast that includes Donald Calthorp and Maurice Schwartz. Add in the fact that this was directed by Michael Powell, and its current state becomes a great pity. Did it make more sense in its original release? Undoubtedly. However, we cannot judge what we cannot see. So the hints that there are sequences in which the movie was heavily influences by Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS have to be written off. Perhaps a more complete copy will turn up one of these days, unlikely as that seems. For the moment, it's a mess.