"Trent's Last Case" is not a classic, but it's a nice little cozy mystery. It is well-plotted, and by watching it a second time you can see how well the entire story hangs together (though the very last twist does not really change the essence of the story - but maybe that was precisely the point). There is also a distinguished British cast (Margaret Lockwood is accurately described within the film as "very beautiful, dark, and self-possessed"), plus an eccentric and quite fascinating turn by Orson Welles, who despite his third billing appears only in the last half-hour, in flashbacks. The director doesn't do anything phenomenal, but he doesn't do anything wrong, either; the settings are opulent but do not overwhelm the story. I believe most genre fans will enjoy this one. **1/2 out of 4.

MICHAEL WILDING is an armchair detective who sets out to determine whether or not the death of ORSON WELLES was suicide or murder. He thinks he's solved the case, only to learn that all is not what it appears (without giving the outcome away).Unfortunately, the script is a dreary, talky and ponderous, making the film appear to be an amateurish stage play, although based on a novel. It's static. Nothing at all cinematic about the approach, nor is there any imagination in the directing.Of all the players, MARGARET LOCKWOOD as the beautiful wife of the deceased man and JOHN McCALLUM as the man's secretary have key roles that they play with assurance. ORSON WELLES, with fake nose and bushy brows, might as well have been from another film. His ten or fifteen minutes of time on screen renders nothing but ham. Director Herbert Wilcox was evidently unable to tone him down and as a result his key scenes throw the film off stride. MICHAEL WILDING has a colorless role as the newspaper reporter who suspects foul play but can't prove anything.With a talky script and lack of any cinematic touches, TRENT'S LAST CASE goes nowhere fast and leaves the viewer expecting a strong twist that never arrives--instead, a flat ending.Production values are fine even though the film comes from the usually low-budget Republic studios.

Armchair detective gets involved in the case of the death of a rich man. The inquest says suicide- but ends are left hanging so Trent investigates.Stoggie formal British mystery with Orson Welles in flashbacks playing the dead man with a pointy nose, too much make up and raised eyebrows. He's in over acting mode chewing the scenery in his "look at me style". He's in the film for just over ten minutes but all I remembered was his bad acting and silly nose.As for the rest of the film it's an okay time waster, but it's not much beyond that. It's a long 90 minutes

A very dull movie on a novel which was famous because it tried to be the reversal of the usual mystery novels. A long work by the amateur detective which results in an impregnable indictment of the murder, until in the end someone confesses having witnessed what was an accident. The picture is too talky. Even its denouement is talked. No suspense at all. By 1952 Herbert Wilcox had proved not to be the notable director they claimed he was in the thirties. Good performances by Michael Wilding and Orson Welles. Indifferent by an aging Margaret Lockwood.