BLACKOUT is a typical British noir flick of the 1950s with a fairly good turn from American import Dane Clark, who starts off being drunk out of his head and seduced by a blonde femme fatale (the exceptional Belinda Lee). When he wakes up the next morning he finds himself enmeshed in a murder plot and must fight to extricate himself. This film was one of the thrillers that Hammer made before moving into the horror genre and it's fairly average, not quite as good as others they made during the era (such as the underrated CLOUDBURST). Clark is a bit of a weedy hero and constantly out of his depth while the plot gets a bit bogged down during the middle stages, lacking that spark of suspense to keep it moving; the classic 'saggy middle'. Still, things do pick up for the twist-upon-twist climax, so at least it ends on a high, and the tragic Lee helps to make this worthwhile.

Drunken Dane Clark is picked out one night by a British socialite (Belinda Lee) who wants a marriage of convenience in order to receive an inheritance. This results in the murder of her father and the exposure of a sinister scheme for the villain to get control of the estate. Clark gets more than he bargained for as he tries to keep his name out of the list of suspects, questioning witnesses before he learns the not-so-surprising truth. A notch above the usual puzzling structure of similar tales (a staple of noir), this retains interest through a variety of eccentrics, dropping clues here and there to keep you guessing. Nobody is a shoe-in when it comes to being revealed to be the mastermind behind all the intrigue, and nobody is obviously innocent, either. That makes things much more intriguing and keeps the element of surprise always at a high. It softens a bit when Clark introduces Lee to his estranged family, but it doesn't remain soft for long.

It's too long and confusing and all the tension ebbs away while you try to follow the convoluted plot. The fun part is revisiting London of the time, especially the genuine interiors - from Chelsea Studio to furnished (in 1900 taste) flat to shagpile'n'modern sculpture penthouse. The beautiful girl acts as well as the artist's wooden lay figure. Why couldn't Dane end up with painter Eleanor Summerfield? I suppose we're meant to think "Oh ho, the cops are following him because they think he'll lead him to the real killers!", but this is very clunkily done. And yes, the scene in the Polish pub (Polish pub???) is utterly unnecessary.

Dane Clark plays an American drifter in London who meets a stunning blonde while on a bender at a bar. The girl tricks him into marrying him while he is in a drunken stupor and he wakes up with 500 pounds in his pocket. He then discovers he is involved in a murder and an inheritance scam.MURDER BY PROXY (a.k.a. BLACKOUT) is one of several British attempts to duplicate the American "film noir." Sometimes they even cast a genuine American "noir" star, in this case Dane Clark. Clark was in this as well as the British "noir" PAID TO KILL. However, the results were almost always that these "Brit Noir's" were never as satisfying as the American films. MURDER BY PROXY has fairly interesting plot, but things begin to get confusing, and like most "Brit Noir's", MURDER BY PROXY builds up to its climax to slowly. There is an overly long and pointless scene where Clark visits his mother and English step father and introduces himself to his new "bride." They then throw a party. This takes ups to much time and adds nothing to story.