The Floating Dutchman (1954) User Reviews

Snow White Yearns for Rose Reid

[boblipton · 6/10 · 20 April 2018]

This is a swift and straightforward crime thriller, adapted from a novel by Nicholas Bentley. When a corpse turns up in the Thames, it turns out to be the eponymous Dutchman. Scotland Yard figures it links to Sidney Tafter, a nightclub owner and suspected jewel thief, so they send in Dermot Walsh undercover to join his gang, which he does in jig time, while romancing hostess Mary Germaine.

It all moves ahead at a good clip thanks to a script and direction by Vernon Sewell, and there is a bit of excitement towards the end. One peculiarity are a couple of character names, doubtless borrowed from the novel: Miss Germain's character is named Rose Reid... and Tafter's chief henchman is called Snow White. Given Bentley's sideline in cartooning -- he is best known for his illustrations to T.S. Elliot's OLD POSSUM'S BOOK OF PRACTICAL CATS, this was probably a theme of his.

"I thought your pockets were lined with asbestos"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 20 April 2018]

The floating Dutchman of the title is found deceased in the Pool of London and this sets off an undercover operation by Scotland Yard to catch the gang responsible who are led by jewel thief Victor Skinner who also runs a night club. A policeman Alexander James easily insinuates himself into Skinner's company and then the gang itself. A hostess at the club, Rose Reid, falls for James and complicates matters as one of gang, the fearsomely named Snow White, has carried a torch for Rose for a while.

It is a standard cop going undercover tale with no surprises until the ironic ending. Some of the location cinematography is good but the script is too talky and there is not much action. The cast do their best with the weak script but nothing rises above the routine. Amusingly the band in the night club seemed to have a penchant for Scottish folk tunes.

Very routine thriller

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 28 March 2016]

Even by the standards of Merton Park this is a very routine thriller.Dermot Walsh is an undercover policeman who worms his way into a diamond smuggling gang by falsifying a prison record.Sydney Tafler,as usual plays on the wrong side of the law is caught by the police and manages to escape by asking for a glass of water.It is quite laughable.The finale such as it is mainly takes place in the dark,so you don't actually know what has happened till someone turns on the light switch.The problem is that plot is so routine that you just give up the ghost long before the end credits roll.Such a surprise when someone as experienced is the director.

And sleepy audience

[searchanddestroy-1 · 23 September 2012]

I expected a little more from this UK crime movie from the mid fifties. Vernon Sewell is one director whose I purchase the films, as Monty Tully, Lance Comfort, Francis Searle or Godfrey Grayson. I particularly like these thrillers from over the Channel. But this one is talkative, actionless for my taste, and the topic rather very classic. I watched it like a cow seeing a train pass by whilst eating grass. I have seen thousands like this one, and no souvenir will emerge in my memory afterwards. That's the reason why I comment it right now; before if erases itself inside my brain.

But I waited for this one since some years now, and I don't regret it. I know the "risks" being a movie buff. You may sometimes have to stand dozens of movies to catch a single one very astonishing.

The Acceptably Bad

[jromanbaker · 1/10 · 19 March 2021]

I was astonished to see that this mediocre ( in plainer words bad ) film was reissued in the cinemas in 1958 after its initial showing in 1952. Was British cinema so poor that it had to inflict this again upon audiences ? A question worth pondering over. The story is the usual trafficking among criminals of questionable goods, and the cast does its best with static direction, appallingly shoddy sets and a few London scenes which tried to show the film was alive. Like the floating Dutchman of the title this ' cinematic experience ' is dead in the water. Women are termed as ' girls ' and I felt sorry for the one good actor in the cast Mary Germaine, who looked as if she could do much better than this and she deserves the 1 very reluctantly given. Sadly the cinema of this period in the UK almost entirely dismissed good women actors for stale men. To sum up; a typical example of redundant film. As for the audiences they went to this sort of drivel and accepted the bad experience.

Cheap and conventional - but a passable timewaster

[Marco_Trevisiol · 5/10 · 27 October 2019]

It's not surprising this crime melodrama reminds one of the series of 1960s Edgar Wallace 'B' movies as they're both made by the low-budget Merton Park Studios.

But while 'The Floating Dutchman' isn't inspired on any level, it's better than the typical Wallace series movie because (even at only an hour's length) they were so routine and dreary they were tedious to get through.

That's because veteran director Vernon Sewell has enough skill to make this conventional and thin story moderately enjoyable to watch. For example with great efficiency he manages to set up the entire plot within the first 5 minutes.

That's not to say the film is not without its problems. Even at a short 74 minute running time the story drags on occasion.

And there are numerous issues with the plot. Basic events in the narrative like what happened to Rose Reid's brother remain unanswered.

As well, it seems hard to believe that for such an experienced criminal that Skinner never considers the possibility Dermot Walsh's character is really a cop; even though he's constantly told by colleagues that he can't be trusted!

And the biggest problem occurs at the end: even though Skinner is a major criminal the police have been after for years, when he's finally apprehended he has barely any police protection and escapes with laughable ease.

Despite those issues and the very low budget, 'The Floating Dutchman' is a decent enough timewaster.

Clever Title

[richardchatten · 2/10 · 8 February 2020]

Considering two of the films Vernon Sewell made on either side of this garrulous quickie took place on boats I assumed the title referred to another; but (SPOILER COMING:) like 'The Thin Man' it actually describes the first person to get murdered.

Based on a novel by Nicholas Bentley - who also appears in a supporting role - whose illustrations for Auberon Waugh's Diary I recall from the seventies.

Mediocre British Crime Thriller from 1952

[howardmorley · 5/10 · 2 October 2012]

I agree with the IMDb user rating which when I looked was 5.3.I awarded this film 5/10 as the star was Sydney Tafler (who is normally just a support character actor in 1950s dramas) and whose best role, in my book, was playing the chief orthopaedic physiotherapist in "Reach for the Sky" (1956), fitting on Douglas Bader's artificial legs!I imagine "The Floating Dutchman" was a "B" feature in the British cinemas of the 1950s.The whole production smacks of low budget and I did not recognise any other actor save for the short man running the bookshop, who briefly appeared in "Quiet Wedding (1940)" saying "Anybodys please" at the railway station magazine stall.

I agree with the other user above from France in his preferred choice of directors.My favourite on his list is Lance Comfort whose film "Bedelia" (1946) stars on of my favourites, Margaret Lockwood.

Great Movie .......

[pub-21 · 8/10 · 17 February 2020]

.... For a 68yo movie this is a great watch. Black and white Pommie gold! If this amount of talent and skill were put into a modern movie today it would take hundreds of millions at the box office. I know old movies are not everyones cup of tea but if you do enjoy a good one, watch this. I have it recorded and will put it away for a year and watch again. 8out of 10 _ _ (One extra star given for its age)

Pitiful potboiler

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 28 February 2020]

THE FLOATING DUTCHMAN is an unenterprising potboiler from B-movie specialist Vernon Sewell, who occasionally rose to direct cult classics like CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR. This isn't one of his interesting works, instead a novel adaptation that goes through the motions and somehow stalls despite the brief running time. When a corpse is found floating in the Thames, suspicion falls on suave nightclub owner Sydney Tafler and undercover agent Dermot Walsh is sent to join his gang. Nothing wrong with those two actors to my mind, but this is slow beyond belief, even slower when a romance takes centre stage for the most part. It's a pity.