jimsimpson

Robert Montgomery's final screen appearance,which he also directed,is a slow moving mystery which spends far too much of the running time on irrelevant scenes pointing up the supposed differences between the British and American character. Montgomery meets a gallery of UK stereotypes such as garrulous publican,dim witted police sergeant and stuffy judge.

The plot concerns RM travelling to England to help clear an old army buddy of a murder charge. There is some mild suspense during the last twenty minutes when the identity of a secret witness is revealed. Leading lady Patricia Cutts (called Patrcia Wayne here) is one of those rather horsey English blondes with a cut glass accent. Her acting is rather stilted and there is little chemistry between her and Montgomery. It's a far cry from his wonderful acting/direction job on Lady In The Lake.

I've just managed to acquire a copy of the UK version of this film which I caught on television some years ago. I was very impressed with leading lady Beverly Michaels (not the cheap blonde one might have expected from her Hugo Haas exploitation movies) but a tall classy lady with a cultured voice who even gets to sing a number at the Prison concert! Thora Hird is a standout as 'Gran' an old lag who helps Beverly escape and Joan Rice is amusing as a bigamist juggling her two husbands at visiting time. Good support also from April Olrich as a prisoner with a baby and the striking Sheila Burrell as an inmate who goes 'stir crazy'.

The almost military routine of 50's prison life is well caught and it's a rare but effective directorial credit for former Oscar winning editor Elmo Williams. The American version Blonde Bait was completely re-edited with a new plot and added footage featuring Paul Cavanaugh, Jim Davis and Richard Travis. In this version Thora Hird's character is a stool pigeon who deliberately lets Michaels escape so she can lead police to her gangster boyfriend!