Exiled from the USA because of the blacklist Joseph Losey did some of his best
work in the United Kingdom and he has a really good thriller here. Not much
of a mystery other than the question is why couldn't the police see who it was
in the first place.
Young Alec McCowen is now on death row after his girlfriend was found strangled
to death in her family's home where he had been spending the weekend. Like
father like son, Michael Redgrave an alcoholic writer who has been living in
Canada comes back to the UK to visit with his son now on death row. He's
been convicted of her death and was too drunk at the time to offer any meaningful evidence in his defense.
It was at Leo McKern's home where the deed was done. He's a foulmouthed
ill tempered automobile manufacturer who terrorizes his family like wife Ann
Todd and son Paul Daneman who is McCowen's best friend. He's also a bit
unbalanced and everyone around him is afraid.
The real suspense is in Redgrave battling his own demons and not returning to
the bottle. The pressure to do so is great, but Redgrave summons up enough
strength to resist. It's a masterful very subtly cerebral type performance. He
and McKern take the acting honors.
For fans of Redgrave and McKern this is a must.
