The Last Appointment

Another short B-picture made in Britain this concerns a man, who, having been court-marshalled during the war, kills five of the six officers who took part in his case. A newspaper reporter (played by John Bentley) and his girl friend (Elanor Summerfield) discover the identity of the sixth man, now a solicitor (Hubert Gregg) and protects him from the killer. But there is a twist in the tail, for the suspect is not the man we have been led to believe it was....

John Bentley is working on a story about death threats to Hubert Gregg. Inspector Liam Redmond doesn't think much about his wild theories, until it turns out there are two unsolved murders in the same date in each of the preceding two years. They figure the connection, but then it turns out that none of their three suspects could have done it: one is dead, one left for Australia, and the third one, Sam Kydd, isn't the type. Meanwhile, back at the office, Eleanor Summerfield is Bentley's girlfriend and the agony aunt columnist, both positions she wishes to change.

It's a terrific little mystery, with Bentley and Redmond investigating a murder that hasn't taken place, and the twist is one I didn't see coming. It's one of those cheap Quota Quickies where everything works, and a very good time indeed.

Who is making threats against a retired army officer, and does the sender have any links to a series of murders that happened some years ago?

It's a passable thriller, with some interesting themes and ideas. It's of course over sixty years old, and very much of its time. I did struggle to put one or two of the events together, and it's fair to say that there are more than a few plot holes.

Nicely acted, John Bentley and Sam Kydd I enjoyed, but it was fascinating to see Arthur Lowe in a role outside of Dad's Army.

It's a decent watch, just don't ask me to explain it. 6/10.

Hammer fans don't often realise that famed director Terence Fisher cut his teeth for many years on a series of low budget thrillers and murder mysteries churned out by many a British studio. FINAL APPOINTMENT is such a film, made at the ubiquitous Nettlefold Studios on a clearly tight budget, and yet providing satisfactory entertainment for fans of the era.

The main character is the rather stodgy John Bentley playing a reporter looking into a series of death threats and finding that they're connected to a series of unexplained murders. It's all linked to something that happened during the war, and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. Along the way he gets to grips with various characters from detectives to lowlife criminals. There isn't much action or incident in this production - no doubt due to the budget - but Fisher's brisk direction is efficient, and fun remains in seeing minor parts for the likes of Sam Kydd and Arthur Lowe.

British b&w comedy/crime thriller, starring 50s B-movie heartthrob John Bentley, with Eleanor Summerfield, Liam Redmond, and wonderful character actor Sam Kydd. The plot revolves around threats made to the life of a former army officer who was prosecutor for a man's court martial during WWII. Police discover that the threats are linked to several other killings.

It does a nice job of balancing pretty grisly events with some screwball-type comedy centred around Bentley and Summerfield's characters. Director Terence Fisher would go on to be a mainstay for Hammer Films (where his work included the four early Lee/Cushing features, Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Mummy). 7/10.