This had all the ingredients to be a great film, but sadly it ultimately falls a bit short of the mark.
It follows the investigation into a young woman's murder in the opening scenes, and the pursuit of a priceless stamp which seems to be connected to her death - the Penny Gold.
There's a excellent cast, including the gorgeous Francesca Annis in the lead role, and also James Booth as a rumpled detective who soon gets on the case.
The story does become a bit muddled and unfocused, although things pick up a bit towards the end as the deception is finally uncovered.
Apart from Francesca (who plays a set of identical twins here), the best part of the film for me was all the location filming, unusual for a British film from this era. It's wonderful to see the streets of Windsor and Eton as they were in thr early 70s, as well as Pinewood's Heatherden Hall and grounds.
It certainly helps to give the film so realism and grittiness, and it must have felt quite fresh and moddish at the time.
But, considering the prestige of the director, this is sadly where the film falls a bit flat - the direction just doesn't create much suspense or real tension, and fails to translate quite an intriguing and twisty story to the big screen.
Having said that, it certainly has lots of early 70s charm, and it's fun spotting all the famous faces and locations. The ending, when you get there, is clever and worth waiting for too.
It follows the investigation into a young woman's murder in the opening scenes, and the pursuit of a priceless stamp which seems to be connected to her death - the Penny Gold.
There's a excellent cast, including the gorgeous Francesca Annis in the lead role, and also James Booth as a rumpled detective who soon gets on the case.
The story does become a bit muddled and unfocused, although things pick up a bit towards the end as the deception is finally uncovered.
Apart from Francesca (who plays a set of identical twins here), the best part of the film for me was all the location filming, unusual for a British film from this era. It's wonderful to see the streets of Windsor and Eton as they were in thr early 70s, as well as Pinewood's Heatherden Hall and grounds.
It certainly helps to give the film so realism and grittiness, and it must have felt quite fresh and moddish at the time.
But, considering the prestige of the director, this is sadly where the film falls a bit flat - the direction just doesn't create much suspense or real tension, and fails to translate quite an intriguing and twisty story to the big screen.
Having said that, it certainly has lots of early 70s charm, and it's fun spotting all the famous faces and locations. The ending, when you get there, is clever and worth waiting for too.