Gainsborough/Rank. Director Terence Fisher, Antony Darnborough; Producer Sidney Box; Screenplay Anthony Thorne, Hugh Mills; Camera Reginald Wyer; Editor Gordon Hales; Music Benjamin Frankel
Jean Simmons
Dirk Bogarde
David Tomlinson
Honor Blackman
Cathleen Nesbitt
Felix Aylmer
The pic is a good workmanlike British thriller, not in the top bracket. Setting for the film is the Paris exhibition of 1889.
The story opens as Vicky Barton (Jean Simmons) arrives in Paris with her brother (David Tomlinson). After a festive first night, they return to their hotel eager to participate in the revels of the following day. But the next morning, the brother disappears. At the hotel they insist that the girl came alone and both the British consul and the chief of police find it hard to accept her story.
Despite the strong plot, the film never succeeds in developing a tense atmosphere. Picture has a good all-round cast. Simmons turns in a smooth performance. Dirk Bogarde displays a keen determination as the young artist who helps her unravel the mystery.
(B&W) Extract of a review from 1950. Running time: 84 MIN.
Contact Variety Staff at
news@variety.com