There were lots of spy films made in the early sixties due no doubt to the success of the James Bond films,and this is one of the lesser examples.Its only real interest is showing locations in and around the Brighton area,as this is one of the last films made at Brighton studios.The problem with this film is that by and large it is all talk and no action.When there is action it is very poorly staged .What is worse is that in the final scene many of the remaining points have to be cleared up by explanatory dialogue.At that point all one can wonder what characters he is talking about.The film also suffers for a rather slow pace.So alas this is not a hidden masterpiece.
9 Reviews
We Know It's Bagdad Because The Title Says So
boblipton11 June 2020
Paul Maxwell is an oil executive about to fly to England, where he will spend some time with fiancee Clare Owen, then on to New York. An Englishman asks him to give a message to a man in London, explaining it's Secret Service stuff. Maxwell agrees. At the airport he is met by what he thinks is the man..... only he's not. He and Miss Owen agree to act as bait to trap the bad guys.
It's a nice set-up for a spy thriller, but then the script continues in the most boring way imaginable, with two men at a time on tiny sets talking about what is going on. The end opens up a little, as the action moves to boats on the Thames..... as two men at a time, on tiny sets, discuss what is going on. It's all very dull stuff, despite the belly dancer in the first sequence.
It's a nice set-up for a spy thriller, but then the script continues in the most boring way imaginable, with two men at a time on tiny sets talking about what is going on. The end opens up a little, as the action moves to boats on the Thames..... as two men at a time, on tiny sets, discuss what is going on. It's all very dull stuff, despite the belly dancer in the first sequence.
Hotel Brunswick
richardchatten28 January 2020
Only Butchers could have come up with a script in which the hero finds himself embroiled in international intrigue that ranges from Baghdad to a very wintry looking London to a very sunny Sussex Coast solely because of something seriously dumb he says early on (which even shamed the scriptwriter into having him remark "Maybe some day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut!").
Despite people getting killed and baddies pursuing the goodies by car from which they're shooting at them, it all seems a bit of lark and you get the sense of an expenses paid sojourn in Brighton for which the film was just a pretext; which would account for the unexpected presence of Hollywood actor John Sutton (who must have died very soon after shooting wrapped) amidst familiar 'B' picture actors like Eric Pohlmann and Alan Tilvern.
Despite people getting killed and baddies pursuing the goodies by car from which they're shooting at them, it all seems a bit of lark and you get the sense of an expenses paid sojourn in Brighton for which the film was just a pretext; which would account for the unexpected presence of Hollywood actor John Sutton (who must have died very soon after shooting wrapped) amidst familiar 'B' picture actors like Eric Pohlmann and Alan Tilvern.
Nice shots of 60s Seaford and Newhaven
lucyrf6 March 2021
But that's about it. The premise is promising - a British agent in Baghdad gives an oilman a coded message to deliver in London - but the whole thing is boringly and blandly shot, and the acting would shame the Charles Vance Players. Even the Haslemere Thespians could have done a better job.
It was an awful fashion year, and the oilman's rather chunky girlfriend sports some frumpy outfits and the most dreadful hat I think I've ever seen.
It was an awful fashion year, and the oilman's rather chunky girlfriend sports some frumpy outfits and the most dreadful hat I think I've ever seen.
Stodgy script sinks this one!
barkiswilling24 January 2022
Yet another example of a budget-constrained small studio misguidedly believing that bringing in a B list Canadian actor to pose as American will give the film an international appeal. It doesn't. The lead character Martin (Paul Maxwell) and his girlfriend (Clare Owen) have about as much charisma as a block of Cathedral Cheddar cheese. At least the chief baddie Sharp (John Arnatt) gets to ham it up and say "I've been expecting you Mr Martin " in true sub-Blofeld mode. Nice to see Reginald Marsh, who many of my generation will remember from various 70's sit coms as the boss who's suddenly coming to dinner, appear as one of the good team.
Promising title for a mediocre British spy drama in every sense of the word.
jamesraeburn200324 February 2011
An American oil company representative called Bill Martin (Paul Maxwell) on his way to London from Baghdad agrees to deliver a top secret message to MI5. On his arrival he is abducted by two men posing as police officers and taken to a small hotel where he meets Sharp (John Arnett) who claims to be his contact man but in actual fact is in charge of a ring of enemy agents. Martin hands over the message but makes the mistake of letting Sharp know that he has a photographic memory, which makes him a marked man. He escapes to his girlfriend, Barbara (Clare Owen), who introduces him to her uncle, John Bowen (Colin Tapley), who has connections with MI5. At his home on the Sussex coast, Martin is introduced to his real contact, Oliver (Reginald Marsh), who tells him that the top secret message contained map references for enemy rocket bases. Martin agrees to help Oliver round up Sharp's gang by setting himself and Barbara up as bait and the pair check into a Seaford hotel watched closely by MI5 agents waiting for the enemy to make their move...
The title promises a suspenseful, tense and action packed spy thriller but it cannot ultimately disguise the fact that this is a mediocre British b-pic (made by quota-quickie specialists Butcher's) in every sense of the word. Director Ernest Morris was a true b-pic veteran who clocked up an impressive twenty-two of these routine features in eight years! Here he is defeated by the script which consists of much talk in small rooms (hotel rooms actually) and precious little action apart from a car chase and a climax on board Sharp's boat where the villains plan to dump Martin and Barbara overboard but these are listlessly staged and provide no thrills or spills. There is very little to watch apart from the location shooting along the Sussex coast which is attractively shot in black and white by lighting cameraman Walter J Harvey and trivia buffs will recognise Eric Pohlmann in the cast who voiced the unseen Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the early James Bond movies.
The title promises a suspenseful, tense and action packed spy thriller but it cannot ultimately disguise the fact that this is a mediocre British b-pic (made by quota-quickie specialists Butcher's) in every sense of the word. Director Ernest Morris was a true b-pic veteran who clocked up an impressive twenty-two of these routine features in eight years! Here he is defeated by the script which consists of much talk in small rooms (hotel rooms actually) and precious little action apart from a car chase and a climax on board Sharp's boat where the villains plan to dump Martin and Barbara overboard but these are listlessly staged and provide no thrills or spills. There is very little to watch apart from the location shooting along the Sussex coast which is attractively shot in black and white by lighting cameraman Walter J Harvey and trivia buffs will recognise Eric Pohlmann in the cast who voiced the unseen Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the early James Bond movies.
Before you reveal the code, come up with a decent story.
mark.waltz6 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This cheapie British thriller reminded me of those low budgeted movies from Edgar Wallace stories that had a theatrical premiere and TV airing almost simultaneously. Filmed like a TV drama, this, as an hour long movie, was too long for an hour long broadcast with commercials and far too short for a 90 minute time slot. Certainly 10 minutes could have been cut as much of the film seems to be padded out, although when the action goes outside to some decent road chase location footage, it improves greatly.
But overall, it's a convoluted mess where they didn't really think out the plot, and in spite of professional performances by Paul Maxwell (paid while on a trip to Bagdad to give a message to someone he doesn't know), and putting his fiancee Claire Owen in danger, the characters just aren't very exciting. The 1960's were years of experimentation in film, and the British film industry tried hard with these quota quickies to be bold. Unfortunately, the results like this one resulted were hard to follow and the majority of them don't make much of an impact.
But overall, it's a convoluted mess where they didn't really think out the plot, and in spite of professional performances by Paul Maxwell (paid while on a trip to Bagdad to give a message to someone he doesn't know), and putting his fiancee Claire Owen in danger, the characters just aren't very exciting. The 1960's were years of experimentation in film, and the British film industry tried hard with these quota quickies to be bold. Unfortunately, the results like this one resulted were hard to follow and the majority of them don't make much of an impact.
Butcher's cheapie with a seaside setting
Leofwine_draca6 September 2016
SHADOW OF FEAR is another cheap and uneventful thriller that comes to us courtesy of Butcher's Film Service. This one was filmed at Brighton Studios and makes some good use of wide open coastal photography, although the attempts to bring to life the Middle East on a non-existent budget are less than successful. The hero is the stolid Paul Maxwell (one of those unfamiliar leads with zero charisma) who is approached by a government contact in Baghdad and tasked with taking a message back to England to give to the secret service.
Unfortunately for Maxwell the contact is killed and a criminal gang show up in England to capture him. He escapes and with his girlfriend flees to the south coast, where the police plan to use the pair in a sting operation to catch the gang members. Unfortunately despite that story this short tale is anything but snappy; there's barely any action in it and, even worse, little suspense. The characters just go through the talky motions here without feeling invested in the tale. The only actor I recognised was Eric Pohlmann in support as one of the baddies. SHADOW OF FEAR is one of those films you can forget about entirely around ten minutes after viewing.
Unfortunately for Maxwell the contact is killed and a criminal gang show up in England to capture him. He escapes and with his girlfriend flees to the south coast, where the police plan to use the pair in a sting operation to catch the gang members. Unfortunately despite that story this short tale is anything but snappy; there's barely any action in it and, even worse, little suspense. The characters just go through the talky motions here without feeling invested in the tale. The only actor I recognised was Eric Pohlmann in support as one of the baddies. SHADOW OF FEAR is one of those films you can forget about entirely around ten minutes after viewing.
Master class in acting of understated irriitation
carlbushmann21 February 2023
I have to say contrary to all other reviewers who seem
to be disappointed in this movie -I found it very entertaining
and it was that Paul Maxwell as the male lead played it so well
at being a seemingly harrassed and irritated individual -but in a such an understated way it was quite remarkable-- I actually found it so engaging subsquently amusing that I have watched it over and over agian --right from the first scene in the Hotel foyer when Mr Martin checks in-- the staff on the reception are basically asleep -in fact the dozy receptionist had to wake up the hotel luggage boy who had nodded off--was hillarious in itself.-then the fun starts the as Mr Martin (ie) Paul Maxwell is relentlessy immersed in.a continual stream of devious characters who irritate the hell out of him -love the whole movie -as did my daughter Michelle and Jeff her partner -they said it was lovely to watch a movie that wasnt all noise and relying on special effects -
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