THREE STEPS IN THE DARK is a low budget British mystery film that was presumed lost for years until a copy finally surfaced. It's nowadays readily available on DVD, but was the wait worth it? The answer is a resounding no. Despite being written by the prolific mystery writer Brock Williams and having an Agatha Christie style to it, this is a very dull movie.
It's an entirely predictable reading of the will type murder mystery in which an elderly man invites a number of relatives and associates to his ancestral home before dying as a result of a mysterious gunshot which seems to have come from outside his window. The assembled investigate and try to pinpoint the identity of the murder, but what it all amounts to is a whole lot of nothing. This is the type of film that makes you wait for the ending, only to end on the most ordinary note imaginable, no twists or anything like that. What a letdown!
The film is only really of interest for its supporting cast, a couple of whom appeared in Hammer films. John Van Eysson (Jonathan Harker in Dracula) is present, as is a youthful Sarah Lawson from THE DEVIL RIDES OUT. Watch out for Katie Johnson (THE LADYKILLERS) who has one of the best parts as the delightfully-named maid, Mrs Riddle; it's a shame she didn't have a bigger role. The main actress, Greta Gynt, is very wooden. My favourite performer was Elwyn Brook-Jones (ROGUES YARN) who once again takes what could have been an ordinary role and injects it with character.
