Lucille Ainsworth (Ursula Howells) seemingly has it all. A husband that loves her, money, and a lover on the side. But when her husband, Robert (Griffith Jones), follows her, suspicious of her infidelities, he gets more than he bargained for. He sees her meet up with a man out on Hampstead Heath and have a heated exchange. Before he can do anything, he slips and hits his head, knocking himself out. When he comes to, Lucille has been strangled and left for dead.
This is the setup for what ultimately is a sparse, but entertaining mystery that throws enough red herrings at the screen to make you second-guess who the killer is. Seemingly everyone has a motive, including the husband, and it is shot in such a way as to not rule him out, either. Even her best friend, Sarah Hayward (Goldfinger’s Honor Blackman), could have a romantic angle, hinted at here in a way that is very progressive for the time. When all secrets are revealed and the identity of the killer is revealed, we can clearly see how it all added up without having it spelled out, making for a rather straightforward finale that works because of how well it has all been set up.
This was based on Pamela Barrington’s 1953 novel of the same name, and it translates well. It’s short and to the point, but it doesn’t ever feel rushed. It also doesn’t waste time with unnecessary moments to pad out the runtime. Instead, because of how taught it is, it worked perfectly as part of a double bill in theaters in the 50s and was even incorporated a few years later into an episode of Kraft Mystery Theater. There is nothing mind-blowing about this movie, but it works on the level it is aiming for and provides a good, solid hour of entertainment and suspense. 1957 - 59 minutes
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