I happen to be a fan of Bernard Lee.Here he is the usual dependable CID officer from Scotland Yard.meanwhile all of the other characters are not always what they seem.It is a fairly distinguished cast including Alexander Knox,what a comedown from his Fox heyday.The problem with the film,and which has given it a low rating,is the lack of credibility in the plot.A firm has been set up with the express intention of blackmail on an industrial scale.Somehow it has been very profitable as they have over half a million in diamonds.The problem is that most of the blackmailers seem to lack any sort of a role.The only woman seems to be there for her secretarial skills.Although there is a surprise ending it is all rather lackluster.
2 Reviews
The Share Out
Prismark1029 May 2021
Colonel Calderwood (Alexander Knox) is the head of a gang of criminals that makes money by blackmailing the great and the good.
Det Supt Meredith (Bernard Lee) has spent years trying to bring the gang down with no success. Th blackmail victims do not want to talk.
Meredith now brings in the notorious Mike Stafford (William Russell) to go undercover. Mike has already been brought in by Calderwood to investigate a member of his organisation, Diana Marsh.
Diana has misgivings but also falls for Mike. There are others in the organisation who are acting suspiciously and might give up Calderwood if the heat is on.
This is very much a talky melodrama with mainly interior settings. A typical quickie B drama that lacks action.
It has a good cast of familiar faces, the story is too far fetched and hard to believe. Calderwood's gang seem to have no role to play than share the proceeds of crime.
There is a twist at the end about some diamonds and an ulterior motive of one or two other people. Apart from that this is humdrum.
Det Supt Meredith (Bernard Lee) has spent years trying to bring the gang down with no success. Th blackmail victims do not want to talk.
Meredith now brings in the notorious Mike Stafford (William Russell) to go undercover. Mike has already been brought in by Calderwood to investigate a member of his organisation, Diana Marsh.
Diana has misgivings but also falls for Mike. There are others in the organisation who are acting suspiciously and might give up Calderwood if the heat is on.
This is very much a talky melodrama with mainly interior settings. A typical quickie B drama that lacks action.
It has a good cast of familiar faces, the story is too far fetched and hard to believe. Calderwood's gang seem to have no role to play than share the proceeds of crime.
There is a twist at the end about some diamonds and an ulterior motive of one or two other people. Apart from that this is humdrum.
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