The Body Vanished

A snappy, rather amusing little murder mystery courtesy of the unknown-to-me Venture Films. It should be noted that THE BODY VANISHED clocks in at a mere 46 minute running time, which means that it has little time to faff around and instead gets on with telling an involving if rather predictable type of storyline.

The setting is a rural village and the mystery involves a country house where a body was discovered by the butler before disappearing. Thankfully, a visiting police detective and his journalist friend happen to be in the area and decide to investigate the crime themselves, and they soon discover a rather complicated plot which I won't go into here.

What I liked most about THE BODY VANISHED is the plentiful humour, which gives this film a lightness of touch, a quality that others from the era lack. There are no less than three comic characters in support; the dumb village policeman, the flustered journalist, and the old yokel wants his tricycle back. They certainly give this mystery a lively edge, and Anthony Hulme's lead is pretty good too.