The Case of the Red Monkey

The usual brilliant scientist with a Cherman accent is in Great Britain, about to be sent to the US. Scotland Yard thinks it has matters well in hand, but it takes American Richard Conte from the State Department to make things come out right, when he is not romancing Rona Anderson.

It's pretty standard B movie fare, except for the score, which consists of half blaring, sprightly organ music and half overly romantic piano tinkling. There are a trio of spies with East European accents talking about how their plans and executions are flawless -- they aren't --and some sharp photography by Josef Ambor. I found it unengaging.

Superintendent Harrington (Russell Napier) is charged with investigating the deaths of British nuclear scientists.

A monkey creature is present when the killings took place. Maybe the Russians have trained primates to carry out the killings.

Bill Locklin (Richard Conte) is the State Department official who has flown into London to bring a Russian defector to America.

However the Russian spies are hot on his heels with the help of collaborators.

Locklin and Harrington need to keep them at bay while the press act as a nuisance.

Little Red Monkey is a passable B movie set during the 1950s cold war. Conte is the obligatory American star.

It moves along nicely as the audience work out just how a monkey could be an assassin. The presence of a little boy is a clue as to how the deaths may have been carried out.

Richard Conte is the visiting American actor for this decent enough British-made thriller. He, "Locklin", is charged with ensuring the safe transfer of a defecting Soviet nuclear scientist "Dushenko" (Arnold Marlé). Simultaneously, a spate of murders is occurring in London and Scotland Yard (Russell Napier) initially baffled, soon discovers that there is a connection and so he and "Locklin" have to work together to thwart the daring plot - starting with just a monkey's paw print for a clue! It's a bit formulaic this, there is a journalist (Colin Gordon) in on the search too; a kidnap and some good old fashioned thumb-screw techniques as the baddies try to elicit the location of their prey. At times it can look little better than a filmed radio play, but at just over the hour, it doesn't hang about. The writing and the acting do their jobs, and though we know pretty early on who is who, it's still quite an enjoyable cold war drama.

Around 60 years ago I remember the title number being played on the radio.Lyrics were added and it was sung by Jimmy Edwards.The film is rather less memorable being a fairly routine spy thriller starring an ageing Richard Conte as the parachuted in fading American star for the benefit of the American distributors.The DVD has some interesting trailers and an alternative beginning.This is far longer and much less puncture than the actual beginning.There is an intrepid reporter trying to ferret out a story,ignoring the fact that the government would quash any story with a D notice.Still this film was very topical at the time with the defection of Burgess and MacLean.

Richard Conte is to film noir what Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott or Audie Murphy are to the Western: reliable lead without ever attaining superstar status. In this film, as ever, Conte delivers a competent performance well backed up by strong direction from Ken Hughes, and a quiet performance of immense quality by Russell Napier, playing the part of Superintendent Harrington in a typical but highly perceptive British stiff upper lip show.

At stake is the Cold War, espionage and the brain drain from the USSR to the USA, with the action happening on British soil. A monkey keeps appearing at murder scenes but in the end it is not the monkey that is icing the scientists. Pity, I have always wanted to see an animal take shots at human beings with cross hairs to even out the contest a little bit.

Lovely Rona Anderson plays the love interest - perhaps a little too eagerly to seem convincing.

Highly professional cinematography by James Ambor. Fair script by Eastwood and Hughes. I enjoyed it well enough to recommend it.