Going to town after New Years day,I found out that a new DVD shop had opened. Along with the usual US blockbusters,I was surprised to find a shelf dedicated to British DVD labels Network and Optimum Releasing,which led to me chasing after the shadow.The plot:After the suicide of her dad, (and also the death of her brother recently) diamond company heiress Kimberley Prescott goes to grieve on the family villa in Spain. Trying to make sense over the loss of two family members, Prescott is shaken from her grief by the arrival of a man,who claims to be her dead brother Ward McKenzie Prescott Jr. Running to police and family,Kimberley is horrified to find everyone disbelieve her that a stranger has stolen Ward's crooked shadow. View on the film:Unlike their spotless transfers for Ealing Studios and Jacques Becker's work, Optimum Releasing bring out a transfer which features some big lines of dirt,that become distracting when they appear during the close-ups. Following the slithering shadow of Hammer Horror's Psycho-Thriller era and the pre-black gloves psychological bloodless Giallo era, the screenplay by David D. Osborn & Charles Sinclair display a sharp taste for Film Noir fear,via the family villa being turned into a crypt,where Kimberly is left to crack from the ghostly "return" of Ward,who as a Noir loner brings with him unfinished family business.Along with the Psycho-Thriller edge,the writers drive into the jet-set sunset Neo-Noir genre,where Kimberly finds the glittering sun of Spain to brighten up the mind games and suspicions between her and Ward. Before he would count down time with Logan's Run, director Michael Anderson and cinematographer Erwin Hillier keep the timer running with psychological chills, as highly stylised Film Noir shadows surround the villa and hide the family secrets from light. Largely taking place in the Prescott villa, Anderson brings a noose of claustrophobic tension in restrained tracking shots capturing the limited space Kimberly has to uncover the motive behind Ward's "return." Coming in as an outsider with a great, stern Herbert Lom as local cop Vargas, Richard Todd layers on the unsettling, psychopathic, devilish charm as Ward,whilst Anne Baxter brilliantly follows Kimberley slowly cracking under pressure,as Kimberley digs her nails into the crooked shadow.

CHASE A CROOKED SHADOW (1958). Pretty terrific mystery thriller with noir overtones starring Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom and Richard Todd. It's another one of those, 'Let's drive someone crazy' films combined with a 'Falsely assuming another person's identity' tropes. But, CHASE is so well tuned that it does keep you guessing to the very end (it's so good that Producer Douglas Fairbanks Jr does a cameo to warn folks to keep it a secret!!).Michael Anderson's direction is tight and superb, and the cast mostly pulls off the trick of being duplicitous throughout the entire running time. Is it entirely believable? Only in the movies, as they say! Mild Spoilers below: I've never truly believed that an impostor could fool a family member. No matter how much research one does, there are just an infinite number of tiny details, quirks, physical details and idiosyncratic ticks that nobody could duplicate - an anchor tattoo ain't enough! Also, my other quibble with CHASE specifically is that this family is supposedly one of great wealth, power and influence, yet nobody in this sleepy little tourist villa knows them - including the police chief? But, again, only in the movies! A great little film

Okay, there are a few loose threads in the plot. But Michael Anderson's direction is so good and the performances so spot-on that who cares? Anne Baxter is a very rich young lady, holed up in a luxurious Spanish villa, who is understandably scared when a visitor shows up claiming to be her brother. Only problem is that her brother died a year ago and she identified the body. With the would-be brother come a lurking butler and a gaunt, steely-eyed housekeeper who have given the previous servants their notice. Oh, and there are some papers they want her to sign. Richard Todd is icily smooth as the visitor and Herbert Lom confused as a local policeman who doesn't know who to believe. Well worth watching.

This is one of my favourite movies. It's filmed in gorgeous black and white in the gorgeous south of France. I like this film a lot because the twist at the end is so good and so well executed by the film makers, writers and cast. It's a B grade classic.