The Switch

Customs man Anthony Steel is looking for smuggled watches with the aid of inspector Dermot Walsh. Also Magazine model Zena Marshall is vacationing in France, when charming Arnold Diamond inveigles her to lunch and a drive. Returning home to London, she finds Conrad Phillips has sublet her apartment. His red Sunbeam, identical to the loaner from her service station has been stolen from her garage. Sparks fly, and the next night, her red Sunbeam is also stolen from her garage. The following night, she is dining with Phillips. After he drops her off, she finds herself confronted with a couple of nasty men who want the watches.

It's a nicely set up melodrama, with gallant cops, threatening goons, secret passages, and Dawn Beret playing as annoying a specimen of Muta Flava as you'd never hope to meet. Susan Shaw and Jimmy Hanley have small roles.

John Curry gets mixed up with Carolyn Markham, who's targeted by a gang who have smuggled in a stash of watches.

A very enjoyable mystery, it put me in mind of The Edgar Wallace mysteries and The Frances Durbridge shows, it's along the same lines. It's a clever mystery, that moves along at a decent pace, and has several moments of intrigue.

What starts off as a seemingly ordinary crime, car theft, soon turns into something a whole lot more interesting, kidnap, assault, violence and murder.

That Alpine Sunbeam was one exquisite looking car, a time when Great Britain truly did manufacture the most exquisite cars.

I loved the visuals, the cars, the fashions, people and streets, you can't argue with the style of the 1960's.

Quality acting from a very reliable cast, Conrad Phillips, Bill Craddock and the excellent Zena Marshall.

Two amusing moments, Peter Butterworth's scene was very funny, I also chuckled seeing Jerry Desmonde, hard to take him seriously, buy a good actor Northerner.

7/10.

The Switch is a standard B feature but on the surface looks as if it should have so much more - a cast led by the trio of Anthony Steel (by now on the downslope of his briefly stellar career), Dermot Walsh (minus famous badger quiff) and Zena Marshall (fresh from cavorting with then spitting at Sean Connery in 'Dr No') - never really takes off.

Nevertheless, there are some nice touches- a 5 minute cameo from Jerry Desmonde, a 10 second cameo by Jimmy Hanley, a few minutes for Susan Shaw in (sadly), her last role, and a hilariously camp Peter Butterworth for a preciously short appearance, and at least two very nice Sunbeam Alpines (the first Bond car and one of several nods to 007). It also has to be mentioned in dispatches that Arnold Diamond is the least convincing Frenchman since 'Allo Allo'.

Nope, there's nothing at all original with this short-ish feature, but it's still just about worth watching. You see, freelance model "Carolyn" (Zena Marshall) has gone and got herself mixed up with some luxury watch smugglers and they have had to put her under lock and key when their shipment goes missing and she's thought to be the culprit! Perplexed that she hasn't been in touch, her beau "John" (Conrad Phillips) manages to enlist the help of customs inspector "Craddock" (Anthony Steel) and policeman "Tomlinson" (Dermot Walsh) - and soon they are hot on the trail of the gang. The plot itself is all pretty procedural - as is the acting and writing, but hats off to Peter Butterworth for a fun cameo as a fashion photographer and to Jimmy Handley for brightening things up too - for a frame or two - as our story bubbles along for just over an hour of vintage cars and pretty scenery without the merest hint of menace or jeopardy.

I enjoy watching these old British crime films...... this one is in the Edgar Wallace Mystery type of story and direction.... There's a good few well known British film actors in this including a very funny cameo by Jimmy Hanley, as himself. The film has the typical British humour and even makes reference to Ian Fleming and his James Bond novels including a good guy, Conrad Phillips, just back from Japan and with a few 'spy' gadgets that were super small (for the day 😀) and even two way radios..... disguised as cigarette cases, the film is well worth watching and from my own experience, not readily available, indeed I was lucky enough to catch it on, Talking Pictures TV (They have a website too that you can watch it on if you can't get the channel yourself) ..... if you enjoy these old 1950's or early 1960's films this film will not disappoint....