This gives a very strong impression of being a direct continuation of Roy William Neill's last film "Black Angel" four years earlier, it's the same mood, the same kind of characters, and although that film was all in London and this one in Hastings, the night club of London was the same as William Hartnell's great joint in Hastings. This thriller is even more polyphonic though with an intrigue deliberately made as confusing as possible: two men love the same woman, one is married to her and comes home after a long absence, and sees the other man coming out from her place, while at the same time another man falls off the cliff and dies, causing the sensation of two deaths, possibly two murders, at the same time in the same place. We never see neither the dead woman nor the dead man, but the clue is all in his necktie, which key to the mystery is revealed in the very last moment of the film, never until then, before which everything is just a muddle of confusions even to the police, while William Hartnell keeps sweating and Derek Farr as the former husband enjoys his sweat, while Peter Lorre gets gloriously drunk in his foolhardy efforts to protect his master William Hartnell. Fortunately there is also another woman involved, the lovely Joan Hopkins, who presents the great constant relief and enjoyable relaxation of the film. The scenery captivated from the shores of Hastings and throughout enjoyable is gloriously rendered with many other supporting characters, like the inimitable Kathleen Harrison, while Naunton Wayne as inspector Tenby keeps as cool as in "The Lady Vanishes" and various other films with Basil Radford, who is missing here. Ken Annakin made no Sherlock Holmes films, but he was one of those directors, like Billy Wilder and Jean Negulsesco, who never repeated himself but could make glorious comedies (like "Three Men in a Boat") as well as the best version of "The Call of the Wild". In brief, it's a much underrated thriller of great entertainment value and for all its complexities marvellously well directed.
