Clue of the Twisted Candle

A blackmailer meets a sticky end, after one of his victims finds an ingenious way to kill him, and land an unbreakable alibi, Superintendent Meredith has his work cut out for him, as the scenario seems almost impossible.

I love a locked room mystery, and this is one that would have troubled both Jonathan Creek and Poirot. This is a very smart, clever mystery, and would give us an idea of what would come in future years, the sheer imagination of Wallace, the twists, turns and downright impossible.

Maybe it wasn't too hard to work out who, but what was fascinating was how, there is a major clue, but seeing it revealed, that was impressive.

It's nicely made, well shot and very well acted, loved the main players, Bernard Lee, David Knight and of course Francis de Wolff, who did a great line in villains.

8/10.

Ramon Karadis is a powerful blackmailer. The police don't like him.

When he is found dead in his locked room, Superintendent Meredith (Bernard Lee) is stumped. How was he killed and how did the murderer leave a locked room.

Before that. Karadis had set up John Lexman for murder. Lexman pleads his innocence and Karadis had conveniently hidden all the witnesses.

Superintendent Meredith was sympathetic to Lexman's pleas of innocence even though he has been convicted. Then Lexman escapes from jail.

This is an Edgar Wallace mystery in two halves. The first part is all about Lexman and the audience feels sympathetic about his plight.

The murder of Karadis comes later although it is obvious to the audience who was responsible. It was a case of how it was done.

Bernard Lee is very effective here.

The first thing i must point out is that this is not a TV film.It was shown as the bottom half of a double bill on the ABC cinema circuit as were all the other Edgar Wallace films.This film is archetypal Wallace.A convoluted plot and a big puzzle as to how the murder was committed.In this instance a man is murdered in a room with no windows with a steel lined door which locks only from the inside.Whodunnit and how did he do it.I have to say that whilst the who was easy the how was a completely different matter.One can only applaud the ingenuity of Wallaces imaginations.Though i have to say that i doubt that a murder is ever likely to have been committed in this fashion.One of the joys of this series of films is the familiar faces that crop up.Of course the lead is Bernard Lee of "M" fame and the ex con turned butler is Richard Caldicott an experienced farceur mainly remembered for his Admiral Povey in "The Navy Lark".