As I watched this I kept thinking it reminded me of something Frances Durbridge would write, no mention of his name in the credits, but low and behold, he's the writer. Typical of his work, use of photographs, mistaken identity, and of course the clever sense of misdirection his work was well known for. The film opens with a very dramatic scene, that car going over the edge grabs your attention, and so begins a web of intrigue and suspense. It's very well acted, cleverly written and well paced, on the downside there are some dodgy fight scenes and a horrid, syrupy ending which had no place in this film.The same year a TV series was made, featuring Patrick Barr and Lockwood West, sadly it's missing from the archives. If I'm honest I would think this story would be better suited to a six part TV series, with the deep plot and twists allowed to develop a little slower, less forced. Good, I enjoyed it. 7/10

Francis Durbridge shines through with his special knack for women mysteries and their magic presence for being absent, you are reminded both of the Paul Temple series and "Melissa" and other spellbinding thrillers with mystical ladies, and here you have two of them murdered while one of them shows up not being murdered at all.The intrigue is spun around a portrait, a weird old man commissions Robert Beatty, a poor painter and brother of the first casualty of the racket, to paint his lost daughter from a picture of her, which task gets him into thorough trouble, especially since one of his earlier models is found murdered in his flat.It's not a bad film although somewhat superficial, of such an intrigue Hitchcock would have brought out a masterpiece, the action is a bit thick as too many things are happening at the same time and too many threads are being woven together in some confusion, as there is another casualty of a man jumping out of a window and lots of fisticuffs which at least twice completely demolishes the painter's entire flat - there is not much space to fight, but they do it the more thoroughly.In brief, a very entertaining thriller with some magic in it, but you would have preferred the first girl (Josephine Griffin) to Terry Moore, but that's a matter of personal taste..

Pretty good crime caper.It's far from perfect and has some silly bits in it, but this movie is still a pretty good ride. It also has a topnotch cast of British and American actors to distract nicely from some otherwise hamfisted fight scenes, a rather muddled and implausible plot and a cheesy ending.It's a supposedly British film but even though it has UK locations it comes across as a fairly typical American noir. The director, Guy Green, is British but clearly took his cues from America for this one. There is also an uncomfortable and misguided attempt to try to capture the mid-50s London scene.Robert Beatty is well suited to his role and doesn't overdo the wrongly suspected victim. Lots of interesting parts for movie buffs and 'face watchers' to enjoy. Even 'Captain Peacock' (Frank Thornton) from Are You Being Served makes a brief appearance! (Those Sunday nights watching PBS weren't wasted after all, eh?)Like I say, there's a certain amount of silliness but it still holds up nicely because of the crisp pacing and superior acting talent on display.

This UK film from 1955 opens with a car racing along the road, over the cliff it goes, and bursts into flames when it hits the canyon below. Geoffrey Keen is Inspector Cobly, who is investigating the accident. We are introduced to Tim and Dave, the brothers of the deceased driver. You'll recognize "Henry" (Allan Cuthbertson) from Fawlty Towers, and whole lot of British TV. I see Hopscotch (AWESOME film) in Cuthberson's list of roles, but can't remember what he did in it. Tim (Robert Beatty) also starts checking out what's going on, and he bumps into people who have the answers, but don't want to give them up. Terry Moore stars as Alison, and seems to be at the center of all this grand adventure. Pretty entertaining. I've never seen this one before, and as of today, doesn't have any comments on the discussion board. Must be new to Turner Classics. There is a twist here and there, but nothing earth shattering. Story by Francis Durbridge, who wrote this in between all the (British) TV series for which he was known. Directed by Guy Green, who had received an Oscar for directing the 1948 Great Expectations.