Death Trap (1962) User Reviews

Based on an Edgar Wallace Story

[nova-63 · 6/10 · 17 November 2010]

A young woman commits suicide. Her sister is not ready to let the death go without someone answering a few questions. Namely, was it really suicide, and where is the large amount of money her sister withdrew from the bank the day before her death. Central to the story is the owner of an investment firm, played by Albert Lieven. He is a schemer with his hand in many crooked deals. He also has many enemies.

We learn that Lieven in fact has the dead girl's money. But did he murder her to get it or did he simply pocket the money when he found out about the girl's death? There are plenty of crooks, blackmailers and killers about to keep the viewer guessing about the outcome. This is a very low budget, well made British crime film that should satisfy lovers of British mysteries from this period.

"None of your diddling!"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 23 March 2020]

Carol Halston's sister apparently committed suicide but Carol is not satisfied. The mystery involves a financial advise Paul Heindrikr, his volatile stepson Derek Maitland, his beautiful secretary Jean Anscomb and an old colleague just out of prison Ross Williams. Det. Insp. Simons shrewdly investigates. Another movie based on an Edgar Wallace story from Merton Park Studios and it's fairly routine with a story that s not compelling and a rushed ending.

There were good performances however from John Meillon as Williams, Albert Lieven as Heindrik, Leslie Sands as Simons of the Yard and the incomparable Barbara Shelley as Jean Anscomb. Richard Bird, unrecognisable under a scruffy beard, has a short but comic scene as local vagrant Ted Cupps.

Death trap

[coltras35 · 5/10 · 9 March 2023]

A young woman commits suicide. Her sister( Mercy Halston) is not ready to let the death go without someone answering a few questions. Namely, was it really suicide, and where is the large amount of money her sister withdrew from the bank the day before her death. Of course, before she learns the answers there are few more murders - a person gets run down, and a lady gets laced with barbiturates.

Ok crime mystery with some good performances and some intriguing moments, however it can convoluted at time, a little dull, but with Barbara Shelley in the cast thing don't drag down and it's passable enough.

How much messiness and boredom can there be in just under an hour?

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 11 March 2024]

The series of Edgar Wallace crime stories made through half of the 60's were a mixed bag, and there were a lot of them, about five a year. When the crime is more business than personal (as it mostly is here), the dialog is often far too technical in whatever business it involves so the user gets easily distracted. Here, there's a financial aspect to the story tied in with the death of a young woman, and the whole thing's rather cumbersome.

At the head of the suspicions is the very smug financial adviser Albert Lieven who's handsome but dull. Barbara Shelley is his secretary, and Mercy Helton, as the sister of the deceased, is also involved, but everything is so rushed that I found it easy to loose interest and thus perplexed. A young Barbara Windsor has a small part. Frankly the most interesting character was the feeble minded old tramp who found the abandoned car and kept barking at the police to mind their manners and hurry up with his reward.