Suspected Person

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!

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.

This wartime cinematic diversion is a story about gangsters trying to recover their stolen money and how this disrupts the lives of innocent parties. David Farrar, excellent as usual, plays the Detective Inspector who sets a trap to catch the thief, the gangsters, and the stolen money all at once. While doing so, he falls in love with the charming niece of the thief, played by Patricia Roc. Her uncle falls in love with her flatmate, played by the actress Anne Firth, in her first feature film role. She later died tragically young at the age of only 49. Clifford Evans plays the lead, though he is hardly a congenial leading man. But then most of those were at War at this time. The film is enjoyable enough and capably directed by Lawrence Huntington. It is for those who like to watch old British forties movies, which have their endless fascination as depicting the traditional manners, attitudes, and mores which have so utterly disappeared from Britain today. Huntington later directed NIGHT BOAT TO DUBLIN (1946, see my review).

Almost a template for many of the British 'B' crime movies of the Fifties, this has Raynor (Clifford Evans) returning to England with the proceeds of a bank heist, pursued by two American gangsters he has double crossed. Another who was in on the robbery is shot in the first scene, which was a relief to me as I could scarcely understand a word he was saying. Raynor is taken in by his sister (Patricia Roc) with Scotland Yard soon in pursuit of the loot as well. Her third film, this was a major opportunity for Roc, and she took it with both hands, giving a strong performance, as well as notice she was on her way to being a major star.

This is fast-moving, and with moments of humour, it holds attention throughout. Patricia Roc's biographer, Michael Hodgson, recounts how Lawrence Huntington had a huge model of part of Euston station constructed in the studio, probably the reason why production values seem skimped in some other scenes. Though not an obvious choice for leading man in a film of this type, Clifford Evans does a good job and David Farrar, another star on the way up, is ideal as the man from the Yard.

This is a thriller that lacks any real conviction,particularly since it seems obsessed with the American gangster milieu. The story twists and turns but not in such a way as to keep you on t enter hooks.The acting is very variable, Farrer is particularly wooden.The 2 "Americans" ate laughably unbelievable.