The Black Glove

There is far too much music and not enough mystery.It means that the film lasts 15 minutes more then need be.Alex Nicol is yet another key lagged American who stumbled unwisely into a situation that leads to murder..He then spends the rest of the film trying to solve who is the murderer between blowing his own trumpet.It really is not particularly exciting.

Another film found on Youtube and watched for the "House of Hammer" Podcast, "Face the Music", or "The Black Glove" if you prefer, is yet another murder mystery melodrama dressed up in the trappings of another theme, this time the London Jazz scene.

James Bradley (Alex Neil) is an American Jazz Trumpet virtuoso just starting a residency in London. After a flirty liaison at the house of singer Maxine (Ann Halbard) he heads home, accidentally leaving his trumpet behind. When Maxine is found dead the next day, the evidence points to Bradley. He begins his own investigation into the murder which leads him to a vinyl record that the studio seems to have no record of producing.

I suppose my problem with the film is that somehow the case is both over complicated, but also lacking in actual things happening. The complications aren't exactly red herrings but looking back on the film now (less then 24 hours after I watched it) I still can't quite work out how it all tied all it's pieces together. I'd have preferred the film to be a bit shorter too, than it's 84 minutes. Whilst it's not a musical in the strictest sense - there are several lengthy jazz trumpet scenes, where Neil's music is actually being played by Kenny Baker (not that one), we could have cut those scenes down to choice moments and audience reaction, to show that Bradley is good and not lost too much of the story.

My other problem is Bradley himself. I think Alex Neil crossed over from self-confidence to smugness too often and particularly in the film's conclusion, when he goes around the room like Poirot explaining everyone's part in this story.

I've written quite a bit about the film's failings here, which might suggest that I hated it, which is not quite true. Some of the dialogue is pretty snappy and for once the fight scene seems a little more rough and ready. The only problem I really struggled with was that length, it would have been a much better film at nearer to the hour mark.

Directed by Terence Fisher, The Black Glove or Face the Music is a British film from Hammer starring Alex Nicol as James Bradley, a jazz trumpet player (fabulous dubbing by Kenny Baker). After a performance, he heads home but is distracted by a beautiful singer (Ann Hanslip) in a club. They go to her place and dine on spaghetti. When he leaves, he forgets his trumpet.

The next morning the police arrive - the singer has been found murdered, and he's the prime suspect. Bradley sets out to clear himself, investigating a mysterious recording, a recording company, meeting the singer's sister (Barbara Quigley), and having poison put on his mouthpiece.

This was an overly complex mystery, and I confess I don't know how it all came together. The film had an Agatha Christie moment with all involved gathered together.

I enjoyed the music. The rest I found slow going.

Taking advantage of arrangements favoured by the UK's Eady levy (a state film subsidy established after the war) in 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers. None were entirely of the first rank, but they remain never less than entertaining, and include THE BLACK GLOVE.

The presence of Alex Nichol and the trumpet playing of Kenny Ball somewhat compensate for weaknesses elsewhere in The Black Glove (aka: Face The Music, 1953) a thriller set in a London world of basement jazz clubs, recording studios and dingy flats. The genial Nichol, perhaps best remembered today for his role as the rancher's crazed son in The Man From Laramie (1955), plays hero James Bradley, a musician who picks up a singer after a London concert, only for her to be murdered shortly after. Following the familiar pattern, Bradley has to discover the real killer and clear himself of suspicion. Nichol gives a likable performance as the trumpet player in a film that includes an archetypal noir voice-over as well as Kenny Ball's frequently soulful contribution on brass, which both add a good deal to the atmosphere. The opening, mutual attraction between Bradley and victim Maxine, played out over music, is especially fine. The intensity between kindred spirits recalls the first meeting in Gun Crazy (1950) while their later scenes just after, expressing their growing romance in cynical rhyming couplets ("Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, show me a woman a man can trust," etc), is also memorable. Bradley's continuous, professed lack of sleep adds to the dream-like mood of the piece. Maxine's sister Barbara works in Soho's Underground Club - "the sort of place you live horizontally or not at all" and most of the clues are found in and around the music produced there. The end of the film is more disappointing, a curious throwback to traditional whodunits, with principal suspects and interested police gathered together in a single room, so that the killer can be progressively unmasked. It's a clumsy and unconvincing narrative device. Director Fisher would later be associated with many of Hammer's celebrated Gothic horror releases.

The Black Glove (AKA: Face the Music) is directed by Terence Fisher and adapted to screenplay by Ernest Borneman from his own novel Face the Music. It stars Alex Nicol, Eleanor Summerfield, John Salew, Paul Carpenter and Geoffrey Keen. Out of Hammer Film Productions, music is by Ivor Stanley and Kenny Baker, and cinematography by Jimmy Harvey.

Brad Bradley (Nicol) is an American trumpet player in London who finds himself suspected of murdering a lady blues singer. Bogged down by lack of sleep and with only minor clues to work from, Bradley trawls the basement Jazz clubs of the city trying to clear his name.

I felt like yesterday's corpse when I finally got away that night.

A murder mystery with shades of noir, The Black Glove is a decent viewing experience for the most part but one that is ultimately undone by a weak finale. Clues are followed, mystery element is strong, but the writer cheats a bit as the reveal plays out in Hercule Poirot fashion. The atmosphere and tone of the picture is impressive, we are in a world of low level music bars and one bed apartments, London's bright lights serving as the backdrop as Brad Bradley goes sleuth. He narrates as well, often providing us viewers with some wry or grizzled observations, the dialogue sharp and a bonus aspect in the film. The music is snazzy, with Kenny Baker and his Dozen providing the backbone for this music set drama, the trumpet sections particularly enjoyable. Most of the film is lighted to provide shadows, but one pre-crime shot involving street lamps only makes us lament there wasn't more of this type of photography within. Cast are good enough, especially the likable Nicol, and direction from Fisher, who would go on to become a legend amongst Hammer Horror fans, is safe and assured. 6/10