Recently seeing the swift Film Noir Mantrap (1953-also reviewed),I was pleased to see on Talking Pictures free online catch-up service that another Noir by Terence Fisher has recently appeared on the site,leading to me facing the music.
View on the film:
Recorded as a murder suspect, Alex Nicol gives an oddly laid-back performance as Bradley, who when attempting to gather evidence to prove his innocence, is given a casual dialogue delivery by Nicol, while Ann Hanslip gives the title some Femme Fatale notes as doomed Jazz singer Halbard.
Covered in Tony Dalton's terrific book Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, that after he signed a deal with the studio for a second time, (taking a gap once his first contract had finished, due to not being pleased with the projects the studio were offering) this was the title which firmly established the relationship between Hammer and the film maker, (who shared a love of Jazz with Music's producer Michael Carreras.)
Joined by future regular collaborator Jimmy Sangster working as a assistant director, director Terence Fisher & Stolen Assignment (1956-also reviewed) cinematographer Walter J. Harvey spin a creepy Film Noir atmosphere of stylish distorted panning shots and dissolves over the killer waiting to commit the murder at the perfect moment to frame Bradley, Fisher continuing to expand on his major Film Noir motif of extended first-person sequences, and playing to a macabre final note, when Bradley finds the killer and skips a beat.
View on the film:
Recorded as a murder suspect, Alex Nicol gives an oddly laid-back performance as Bradley, who when attempting to gather evidence to prove his innocence, is given a casual dialogue delivery by Nicol, while Ann Hanslip gives the title some Femme Fatale notes as doomed Jazz singer Halbard.
Covered in Tony Dalton's terrific book Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema, that after he signed a deal with the studio for a second time, (taking a gap once his first contract had finished, due to not being pleased with the projects the studio were offering) this was the title which firmly established the relationship between Hammer and the film maker, (who shared a love of Jazz with Music's producer Michael Carreras.)
Joined by future regular collaborator Jimmy Sangster working as a assistant director, director Terence Fisher & Stolen Assignment (1956-also reviewed) cinematographer Walter J. Harvey spin a creepy Film Noir atmosphere of stylish distorted panning shots and dissolves over the killer waiting to commit the murder at the perfect moment to frame Bradley, Fisher continuing to expand on his major Film Noir motif of extended first-person sequences, and playing to a macabre final note, when Bradley finds the killer and skips a beat.