Another in the string of second features Canadian star Lee Patterson made in British studios toward the end of the fifties. This time he's a trench-coated insurance investigator looking into the affairs of nightclub owner John Le Mesurier, one of whose premises burned down shortly after he had taken out a policy on it. Le Mesurier's daughter is played by Britain's 'B' film queen, Rona Anderson, who had been appearing in them for the best part of a decade already, making Patterson something of a novice by comparison.
Turns out the remaining nightclub, featuring a band fronted by singer Glen Mason, as well as leggy showgirls, is being targeted by gangsters involved with Le Mesurier's convicted younger brother (Harold Lang) and led by a shadowy figure whose identity is a mystery. At least Patterson's boss can furnish him with a friendly contact at Scotland Yard to back him up, something that often seems to happen in this kind of film. The script is notable as the work of the twenty year old Michael Winner, who no doubt recalled some of the dozens of similar Hollywood movies that he had viewed and reviewed up until then. So a no frills production, but enjoyable, with a good cast and tautly directed by veteran Montgomery Tully.
Turns out the remaining nightclub, featuring a band fronted by singer Glen Mason, as well as leggy showgirls, is being targeted by gangsters involved with Le Mesurier's convicted younger brother (Harold Lang) and led by a shadowy figure whose identity is a mystery. At least Patterson's boss can furnish him with a friendly contact at Scotland Yard to back him up, something that often seems to happen in this kind of film. The script is notable as the work of the twenty year old Michael Winner, who no doubt recalled some of the dozens of similar Hollywood movies that he had viewed and reviewed up until then. So a no frills production, but enjoyable, with a good cast and tautly directed by veteran Montgomery Tully.