As this film starts we are introduced Edward 'Teddy' Bare and his wife Monica; she is a fair bit older than him. Soon afterwards he hears her talking to her lawyer about making a will; believing that she intends to leave him the house but the bulk of her wealth to her estranged sister he arranges for her to have a fatal 'accident'. It is only then that he learns she has already made a will with those terms and as her sister in in Jamaica he can hardly kill her. It is time to find another woman with money; this time a merry widow named Freda. They are soon married but she will be much harder to part from her money. Perhaps he will have more luck with Charlotte Young, a woman looking for property to buy.
If you want a whodunit then this film won't be for you; we know Teddy is a rotter from the start. However if you want a good solid melodrama where the only real question is whether he will get further victims before his inevitable exposure. Dirk Bogarde really impresses as Teddy; a character that we can see as dangerous but can understand why others trust him. Margaret Lockwood is solid as the working class Freda as is Kay Walsh as Charlotte. The rest of the cast is pretty decent too. Fine cinematography and direction help create just the right atmosphere with much of the action taking place in a single house; there is enough elsewhere to take the film away from its theatrical roots. Overall I'd say this is well worth watching if you are a fan of older British films and like a good melodrama.
If you want a whodunit then this film won't be for you; we know Teddy is a rotter from the start. However if you want a good solid melodrama where the only real question is whether he will get further victims before his inevitable exposure. Dirk Bogarde really impresses as Teddy; a character that we can see as dangerous but can understand why others trust him. Margaret Lockwood is solid as the working class Freda as is Kay Walsh as Charlotte. The rest of the cast is pretty decent too. Fine cinematography and direction help create just the right atmosphere with much of the action taking place in a single house; there is enough elsewhere to take the film away from its theatrical roots. Overall I'd say this is well worth watching if you are a fan of older British films and like a good melodrama.