Shrink, Clive Riordan finds out his wife (Sally Gray) is having an affair with an American (Bill Cronin) and manages to imprison him with plans to kill in due time. An elaborate attempt at the perfect crime he is dogged by a Scotland Yard detective while his scheme is temporarily put on hold by the wife's dog, Monty.
Directed by Ed Dmytryk during his blacklist period, The Hidden Room has plot holes that just cannot be filled around the lover's imprisonment. Far from a remote area, a constant racket would draw attention. The relationship between jailer and prisoner is surprisingly civil and somewhat sadistic, settling into a series of cynical conversations that grow wearisome after awhile. Newton is surprisingly composed through out while a Columbo like detective (Naunton Wayne) parries with him in cat and mouse fashion to get to the bottom of things when a mere tail on the major suspect would bring the mystery to a fast close. An improbable mystery that asks its audience to overlook much of the obvious drawbacks.
Directed by Ed Dmytryk during his blacklist period, The Hidden Room has plot holes that just cannot be filled around the lover's imprisonment. Far from a remote area, a constant racket would draw attention. The relationship between jailer and prisoner is surprisingly civil and somewhat sadistic, settling into a series of cynical conversations that grow wearisome after awhile. Newton is surprisingly composed through out while a Columbo like detective (Naunton Wayne) parries with him in cat and mouse fashion to get to the bottom of things when a mere tail on the major suspect would bring the mystery to a fast close. An improbable mystery that asks its audience to overlook much of the obvious drawbacks.