Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

writers_reign Although he did occasionally get to play a leading role Nigel Patrick never quite received the recognition he deserved and it's probably fair to say that he's remembered for his excellent supporting roles in classics like Puffin Asquith's The Browning Version. His name on the credits was the only reason I took the trouble to watch this pot-boiler when it was screened on television the other day. The twist at virtually the last minute is a crib from a much finer film The Fallen Idol which was made some five or six years earlier and though the directors' idea of a racehorse training stable is a couple of shots of horses moving in single file on the horizon and Patrick doesn't appear to even try to be convincing as a leading trainer he still manages to walk away with the film in which he appears with his real-life wife Beatrice Campbell, but is lumbered with the OTT Moira Lister as his screen wife and despite the best efforts of Noel Purcell and Michael Horden to go head to head with him. I'm glad I saw it but once was enough.

trimmerb1234 Many films clearly betray their stage origin. Here most action involves people entering and leaving the same room. However the strength of the story is the tension between the characters as they stand in close proximity which a stage version would have amplified, this film version largely dissipates with its many outside scenes. Also the flat footed direction short changes a good cast and reasonable story. Hitchcock would surely have added red herrings and more visual drama - close-ups, silences, glances and deliberate mis-direction. Hitchcocks "Rope" as one example. It was also, for 1953, rather old fashioned with horsey people, country house and butler (the butler didn't do it but plays a major and interesting role. Doubt if you can get such staff these days unfortunately) It occurred to me that the play could make a good Am-Dram project? 6.5/10

a.lampert I loved this B picture, black & white from 1953 and very English of it's time. It takes place in Liverpool and involves a race horse owner (the always underrated Nigel Patrick) whose horse wins the Grand National. His blowsey but beautiful wife (Moira Lister) isn't interested in him, his lifestyle of managing horses or anything which has given them the grand lifestyle they have, other than indulging in the rewards that the money available gives her, to party all night and get drunk constantly and go around with other men. One night she comes home and a row ensues leading to a fight. She grabs a knife, and that's all we see until the following morning. The rest of the film follows the investigation of her disappearance, involving her sister, a police officer played by the excellent Michael Hordern, and various other friends. Eventually, Nigel Patrick is rumbled, he confesses to a family friend (a woman who seems to like him more than she should) and it is clear to us the audience that his number is up. I was expecting him to be led away to justice and the film to end. Just keep watching, I was totally fooled.

crossbow0106 A British film from 1953 starring Nigel Patrick as a racehorse owner and the beautiful Moira Lister as his wife Babs, this is a film about what happens after Gerald's (Mr. Patrick) horse wins the national. Babs, who doesn't seem to like horses much, parties in Liverpool without Gerald, thinks of divorce, drives home (without a license and probably a little impaired) and has a confrontation with her husband. A struggle occurs and she is killed. From there, the film becomes a detective story. This is where it gets more interesting, as the players in the film are questioned about certain aspects of their behavior. Not a long film (less than 80 minutes), it holds your interest from start to finish. Not essential, but a fairly good detective story/thriller.