7/10
Cinematographer Jack Cardiff's Directorial Debut
31 January 2012
Jack Cardiff does a good job in his directorial debut, 1958's Intent to Kill, starring Richard Todd, Herbert Lom, Betsy Drake, Warren Stevens, and Lisa Gastoni. Lom plays a South American leader who has entered a Canadian hospital under the name of Martin; however, that doesn't stop a group of assassins, headed by Warren Stevens, from getting the details of his stay and trying to assassinate him. The goal is to have the doctor in their gang inject him with an air bubble. It doesn't quite work out as they hoped.

Richard Todd plays his doctor, Dr. McLaurin, an unhappily married man who is in love (platonically for the moment) with a nurse, Nancy Ferguson (Betsy Drake).

Though this is a British film, it's set in a hospital in Canada, and is reminiscent of the film Crisis, which starred Cary Grant. The acting is good, particularly from Lom, and the camera work, no surprise, is interesting.

The best scenes in this film, in my opinion, occur at the end, when there is a confrontation on a staircase, an intense and exciting scene, very well done.

Entertaining with some nice twists and good elements.
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