The Broken Horseshoe

Though the 1970s were the heyday for British TV spin-offs, author Francis Durbridge's serials, notable for each episode's cliffhanger ending, were among the first to transfer to the big screen twenty years earlier.

Here, Mark Fenton, a hospital doctor or possibly consultant as he is addressed as Mister, becomes ensnared with the double-dealing members of a crime ring after falling for the glamorous Della Freeman. Fenton appears to have more time on his hands than most members of his profession and he appeared in a similar adaptation OPERATION DIPLOMAT, played by Guy Rolfe. A likable cast includes Robert Beatty, with his decidedly Canadian accent as Fenton, while Elizabeth Sellars, an excellent and somewhat under used actress plays Della, looking classy and elegant in a sumptuous array of furs and hats. There's also two celebrated specialists in sinister foreigners for British films and TV, Ferdy Mayne and Roger Delgado.

The only film of Director Martyn C. Webster, a BBC radio producer whom had worked with Francis Durbridge on the Paul Temple series starring Peter Coke; he ensures it gets off to a flying start. Durbridge's thrillers and series were always gripping and enjoyable despite his over use of certain plot devices. See for example the similarities in a more polished adaptation of his work, Gerald Thomas's THE VICIOUS CIRCLE (1957), also featuring a doctor in trouble.

Anyone who is interested in the atmosphere of Post-War Two tawdriness in London should watch these ' minor ' films of the early 1950's. Robert Beatty who was often seen on the screen then is always watchable, and he is good as a doctor who gets embroiled in criminal activities, and with a woman played by the underrated Elizabeth Sellars who has a mysterious past. The plot centres on supposed aid for Polish refugees called ' The Broken Horseshoe ' and the twists and turns of murders surrounding it. A clever plot but the film is really watchable for the good acting and the ' rich ' and cluttered apartments of the time and the ' poor ' apartments for those who are struggling under rationing and low paid jobs. Robert Beatty epitomises the former while Vida Hope ( a fine character actor of the period and responsible for producing the original production of ' The Boy Friend ' ) shows us the latter. Darkened rooms, even darker streets try to hide the slow recovery in the UK, and it is well shown in this film. Repression in every area and crime perhaps partly because of it is conveyed. A good film for those interested in the past, and films of the time are indispensable for showing social history.

THE BROKEN HORSESHOE is a low budget British thriller filmed at Nettlefold Studios and distributed by the reliable Butcher's Films. Unfortunately it's one of their lesser outings, a largely uninteresting mystery yarn which sees a hospital doctor become both a murder suspect and an amateur sleuth as he attempts to solve the mysterious death of one of his patients.

Unsurprisingly, this is a sluggish, talky affair, notable only for some of the performances of the supporting players. While the main actors are rather stiff, there's a stand-out turn from a debuting Roger Delgado playing a rather sinister character; you can see why Delgado became a familiar face on our screens in the years to come as his performance is assured and confident. There's even a role for Ferdy Mayne (THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KLLERS) playing the chap whose murder kickstarts the whole plot. But the storyline is distinctly average, the events of the plot feel rather quaint, and as a whole this hasn't dated as well as other material from the era.

A talky but good looking Butchers quickie based on a Francis Durbridge serial embellished with a noisy faux Rachmaninov score by Wilfred Burns, handsome photography by Gerald Gibbs, handsome leads in Robert Beatty and Elizabeth Sellars and amusing cameos from the likes of Frank Atkinson and Vida Hope.

I enjoyed the acting performances of Elizabeth Sellars playing the alluring, sophisticated, femme fatale, Della Freeman as well as Roger Delgardo, who is cast as Felix Galegos, the slippery, dastardly villain, a role which he reprised in countless films. However, the rest of the cast are unremarkable and move around like mannequins to pad out the cast. Robert Beatty plays Roger Fenton, a chain smoking, naive and highly gullible doctor, who's drawn into a spider's web of intrigue involving the doping of horses. Fenton's fascination with the delightful Della Freeman, seriously affects his thinking with the result he puts himself in the frame as a murderer. Robert Beatty handles his role well as the spellbound doctor, but the storyline allows him and Sellars, little room for romance, not even a kiss or an embrace. Beatty was a trustworthy and solid regular of British films in the 40's and 50's who later appeared as a detective in the TV series, 'Dial 999.' 'The Broken Horseshoe' is a worthy, but cheaply made budget film, which doesn't inspire, as there is far too much talk and barely any action. One of those films to watch out of curiosity on a cold, wet afternoon.