Suspected Person

Jim Raynor returns to London only to discover gangsters and Scotland Yard are both on the trail of the stolen money (50000 dollars) now in his possession. On the positive side of his return Jim gets re-acquainted with his supportive sister Joan and his old sweetheart(now a local entertainer named) Carol Martin. Can Jim somehow elude both the notorious gangsters and the police or will they both have more in store for him than he bargained for?

This is a rather fanciful take on the crime fantasy story and falls very much in line of what one expects a 1940s film about the subject to be like. While it likely doesn't ring true, it's great fun to watch unfold despite its cliches. The women in the film are particularly strong for a film from the 1940s--especially Patricia Roc as Jim sister's Joan.

An occasionally atmospherically lit but stiff, talky and studio-bound British imitation of a Hollywood crime film a long way after 'Point Blank', whose plot about American gangsters at large in London like the rest of the film feels very pre-war.

A couple of 'big shot' racketeers are after $50,000 due them from their latest heist stateside. I won't spoil it for you by revealing if they're successful or not.

Clifford Evans has taken part in a robbery in New York and lammed for England with all of the $50,000. He settles down with his sister, Patricia Roc, and is waiting for the money to be converted to pounds sterling. However, two of the men in the robbery have shot the third and pursued Evans to England, with money and murder on their minds. Police Inspector David Farrar catches wind of what's going on and decides to do some undercover work.

It's a well-written mystery, with a nice, low-key comic bit for William Hartnell as Derek's sergeant. It still betrays its essentially second-feature production by the cheaper sets and lots at Associated British' Wellwyn Studios, and a couple of minor gaffes, like the way American accents are portrayed. Nonetheless, the twists and turns kept me interested through the end.

Ignore the reviews that complain about the bad American accents, etc. The plot's the thing here. Unique, interesting story with a bunch of twists... and the director keeps it moving at a brisk pace. The attempts at humor aren't great, but they don't ruin the film.

As far as the two "americans" in with their gangster lingo. With a good story behind it, it really doesn't interfere with the enjoyment of the film. This is a English B crime picture from 1942 - what can you expect of it?

Overall, the acting is at least adequate with solid performances sprinkled in.

Interesting that one reviewer lamented over the "weak story" but great characterizations. I would have to say it is the exact opposite.

American bank robbers Robert Beatty (Franklin) and Eric Clavering (Dolan) travel to London to track down Clifford Evans (Jim) who has escaped with the money. He is living with his sister Patricia Roc (Joan) who unknowingly rents out a room to detective David Farrar (Inspector Thomson) who is tailing the gang and who is also after the money to crack the case and arrest all 3 guilty men. Singer Anne Firth (Carol) also has lodgings in the same house and becomes the girlfriend of Evans. Can Farrar crack the case?

It's a zippy story that keeps you watching and so it scores points on that front. It also has a couple of surprises in store, especially for Farrar as he thinks he has things solved. Not quite. I also liked the 2 bad-guy robbers and Anne Firth sings a good song in the nightclub. However, I have to give the film an overall verdict of "ok" as opposed to "good" as people speak their lines too quickly so it's not always clear what they are saying. This is especially true of the character of Eddie at the film's start and Farrar is also an offender in this respect. He speaks too quickly and swallows his vowels in a Noel Coward kind of way. Also, Clifford Evans is a poor lead character – he's not very appealing or convincing as a tough guy. And how about those fake punches!