A cracking film with a remarkable mixture of sly comedy and genuine thrills and Alastair at the very top of his game. Alastair's dry sardonic humour counterpoints the darkly atmospheric hospital environs. Alastair's voice-over introduces the village postman, Joseph Higgins, in sepulchral tones: "I begin with him, because . . . he was the first to die." The film then becomes a rhythmic whirl of sexual and office tensions all within the atmospheric confines of theatre anaesthetics with its rituals of flow-meters, hissing gas cylinders and palpitating rubber bags (all in the middle of the Blitz, too!) The story line is a superb whodunit but is also a sly but affectionate side-swipe at the omniscient detective figure and the clichés of the detective novel.
There is a full synopsis of this film at www.alastairsim.net with some nice images.
There is a full synopsis of this film at www.alastairsim.net with some nice images.