The Embezzler

Charles Victor was an extremely likable actor, although very few films took advantage of his demeanor as much as the mistitled 'The Embezzler' did.

The story seemed to jump a little, as we are initially led to believe that Rio de Janeiro is his preferred destination, as he wanders past a travel agency. Instead, he winds up in a mediocre boarding house, replete with the usual British classes of boarders.

Yes, the story is a bit of a yawn, but as mentioned previously, you could do worse.

Screened on ABC TV, Australia - January 2006.

Long time bank teller (Charles Victor) learns he has only 2 years to live due to an illness. He decides he wants to enjoy his remaining time so embezzles a swag of money from his employer and plans to travel to Europe. But the cops are on his trail so he heads for a British seaside guesthouse where he blends into the social scene. But a fellow villain spots him and the blackmail begins.

Standard 1950's British drama and not bad entertainment for a rainy Sunday afternoon. You could do worse.

A bank clerk (Charles Victor) puts up with a nagging harpy of a wife day after day to the point where he just wants to leave. Not to mean he's thinking of being unfaithful to her, mind you, he just wants to leave. Putting the money into the vault at the end of each day and passing by the local travel agency on his way home gets him in the mood for Rio. Will he take the money and run one of these days? Or will his recently diagnosed heart condition hold him back?

This one, while being generally lighthearted, is definitely bittersweet, especially once he starts meeting certain new people, several of whom affect his life in a large way. I did have thoughts of Ikiru at times because of certain parts of the storyline, but it's nowhere near that heavy. I liked the way the characters' stories intertwined and how important they all were to the whole. Well written and performed.

I enjoyed this one a lot, from the lighthearted beginning to the surprising and bold end, which made me give this a half star higher rating than I might've otherwise. Recommended!

This is an excellent little crime thriller for which the main character is the most interesting, because a so ambivalent character. It is short, agreeable, very English in the good way. Some light heart moments and atmosphere but it is not a comedy. It could have been because this early fifties era was a good period for British film industry to provide such comedy thrillers, directed by the likes of Ronald Neame, Charles Crichton, Robert Hamer, Alexander Mackendrick. So, at least, we avoid this kind of comedy thriller. John Gilling the director will later become a famous horror film and also thriller and adventure yarn provider.

Gifted Hammer Films director John Gilling, when not putting the wind up British cinema audiences with his grisly Gothic shockers filled with reptilian fiends, and singularly ghoulish zombies, also made a number of serviceable, low budget crime thrillers in the 1950s, his considerable versatility put to nimble use in the noirish potboiler 'The Embezzler'. This is, arguably, one of the more compelling examples of John Gilling's woefully neglected cops n' robbers oeuvre. In this specific instance, the existential misfortunes concern a weary, hen-pecked bank clerk Henry Paulson (Charles Victor) who is given a rather grim prognosis by his G. P which galvanizes this broken, grey little man into an extraordinarily cavalier act of larceny, the dramatic aftershocks thereafter making John Gilling's engaging, well-acted B-Thriller a breezy enough time-waster. It's aesthetically pleasing feature, featuring melancholic views of a decidedly more austere, glum-looking Eastbourne than one might have expected! While not exactly essential viewing,'The Embezzler' has a cogent text, a genuinely sympathetic protagonist in the light-fingered middle-aged misfit Paulson, and some terrifically tense interludes, plus the frequently heated exchanges between the no less shady, altogether eccentric hotel patrons provide some additional fizz!