To Have and to Hold (1963) User Reviews

Slightly contrived with a twist in the tail

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 28 July 2018]

I know that other reviewers have complained at the derivative story line.However if you are looking for originality this is not the series to be viewing.Anyway sitting in the 4/- seats at the local ABC you didn't really concern yourself with such trivialities.There is a good cast,with a particularly welcome cameo by William Hartnell.The story may be convoluted but it's ending is worth waiting for.

Outstanding performances but giant plot holes

[fbarrylangford · 6/10 · 4 August 2021]

The sterling performances of Ray Barratt, Katharine Blake et all make this an enjoyable if convoluted mystery, but the plot has holes so big you could drive a truck through them. The dead body of the wife in the flat had been hanging around for 24 hours at the very least, however when it is discovered by the police nobody questions this, even though the apparent victim had been having lunch with the policeman less than two hours earlier!

Second last of the series, but one of the top entries in entertainment

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 7 November 2013]

The British "Edgar Wallace" series reversed the usual trend of series films in that the entries actually got better rather than worse, as the series progressed. In its last days, it was very good indeed. This entry, based on the novel, The Breaking Point, was the second last and I'd give it the comparatively high rating of 74%. It was distinguished by highly competent acting led by Ray Barrett (a much under-rated actor who should have enjoyed a far better career. In fact, he was all set to play Merryll Manning in "Merryl Manning On the Rim of Heaven" when the movie was abandoned just a few days before it was to go into production on location in Tenterfield, New South Wales). "To Have and To Hold" also has an interesting script, crisp location photography, fairly imaginative direction by Herbert Wise, and remarkably inventive film editing by Derek Holding. Casting director: Ronald Curtis. Make-up: Stella Morris. Music: Bernard Ebbinghouse. Title music: Michael Carr. Assistant director: Ted Lewis. Costumes designed by Eileen Welch. Set continuity: Marjorie Owens. Sound editor: Brian Blamey. Production manager: Ron Fry. Sound recording: Sidney Rider. I know that Gladys Locking was also in the movie's production team, but I'm not sure in what capacity.

To have and hold

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 14 March 2023]

Sent to protect a woman frightened by telephone death threats, Sergeant Fraser goes against all codes of police conduct and falls in love with his victim. Which leads to murderous results...

There's plenty of deception subterfuge and double dealings in this Edgar Wallace B-Movie that boasts some strong noir elements and some grand acting especially by Ray Barrett who falls for the charms of the woman he is assigned to protect, and Katherine Blake who is quite charming and mysterious as the woman. William Hartnell makes an appearance as a crabby chief inspector- this is an atmospheric and engaging film, though it can be quite convoluted with some plot holes.

Middling and convoluted

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 8 June 2018]

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD is another middling B-flick thriller that was released in America as part of the EDGAR WALLACE series. This one boasts three interesting acting talents and a script ghostwritten by Jimmy Sangster (moonlighting away from Hammer) but is otherwise quite convoluted and needlessly around-the-houses. The thrills are tepid and the plot appears to have been borrowed from big Hitchcock thrillers like VERTIGO. Cast-wise, the leading actor is none other than Ray Barrett, doing his best with what he's given; supporting him are Nigel Stock in a sinister part and the great William Hartnell as Barrett's bullish superior.

Good story, great acting

[lucyrfisher · 9/10 · 29 June 2022]

But, at least to start with, the two leads drop their voices and mumble - and there aren't any subtitles! Twisty story that veers from a couple of flats in London (love Ray Barrett's modernist decor) and a house perched on a cliff in Bournemouth - and a beach hut. Yes there are inconsistencies - where did Nigel hide the body, and how come the detectives didn't detect that it had been dead for 24 hours while having lunch with one of them that afternoon? Plus Claudia's fingerprints are all over the flat, but presumably none of the wife's... which are all over the house in Bournemouth.

Instant twin. Just add glasses.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 2 September 2023]

Lookalike sisters are always a great challenge. Just ask Bette, Olivia, Margot, Lily and Bette to name a few. Add British actress Katherine Blake to the list, coming on half way through, dealing with the murder of her twin who had dates police officer Ray Barrett, initially called by the deceased while dealing with an abusive boyfriend. Little hints of noir, but really just your average British programmer, another one of the several dozen Edgar Wallace stories made during the first half of the 1960's.

There's a great location shoot at a gorgeous beach front house, the spot where Barrett first encounters the mysterious twin. When she makes a startling confession, the film becomes all the more intriguing but lots of questions need to be answered correctly to make for a satisfactory denouncement. Blake does a good job considering the twists her character(s) has going on in this oddity that people will either buy or get irritated over.

Doesn't this remind you anything?

[searchanddestroy-1 · 11 December 2011]

This would be an excellent idea for a so little B picture, if it would not copy so much a classic that every movie buff knows. See for yourself. A young woman is harassed by a man and asks for help to the police. An inspector is in charge of the affair, goes to investigate to the woman's apartment and, of course, falls in love with her. In first, we think of Otto Preminger's LAURA, especially when the gal is murdered after the first half of the feature. And our lead cop keeps on his investigation and meets - guess who? - the twin sister of the deceased...

As you may guess, he is in total confusion...

Yes folks, the screenwriters have watched VERTIGO before. A blind audience could say so. But, let's be fair, the end of the story, at least the second part, is a bit different if you compare with the Hitchcoch's masterpiece.

You can watch it although, a good time waster. But you have already seen this before. That's all.