A heavily laden, talkative crime drama, which left me none the wiser as to understanding the plot or even some of the characters. The blind pianist pops up every so often but there is no reason as to why he's involved in this muddled and confusing storyline. I'm not sure why the character 'Walter' played by Valentine Dyall suddenly disappears, as there was no explanation. The lack of a cohesive and accessible narrative of events must have left film goers at a loss as to what exactly was going on. The storyline would have been so much better with two British male leads but the films of the 50's demanded that at least one American actor to help with the distribution of the film in both the U.K. and the US. Thus we have Hugh McDermott and Paul Carpenter, who play the two Americans, exchanging cliched 'Chicago cops and dialogue' to give the film a gritty edge - but they end up trying too hard to establish their American cultural identity. Their tiresome American slang simply identifies them as cultural 'fish out of water' in a quintessentially English rural location. Another problem with the casting is that there are no youthful looking actors. Both men look middle aged, as does the main female star, Elspet Gray, who comes across as disinterested spectator. She has a difficult role as her part is largely sedentary, playing a one dimensional, middle class character, who seem totally emotionally detached as to the events which are taking place.. The whole thing is a mess.
