Last night, we watched a Veddy Brrrittish murder mystery called "The Third Visitor"(1951), in which a wealthy businessman is murdationed in his mansion. We believe we know who did it, for we are there in the room when he's killed. The killer is a mobster, fronting for his boss, who was demanding a big blackmail payoff from the dead man, "Mr. Carling" (Karel Stepanek). But Carling was blackmailing the mob boss, too, and that's when things got ugly, or so it seems. But "Inspector Mallory" (Guy Middleton), who's investigating the case, isn't buying it. The details aren't adding up. For one thing, he finds out that Carling has a secret chamber in his house, and that he tried to wall in the man who built it for him, so that no one would ever know it was there.
The star of the movie is a terrific actress named Sonia Dresdel. She plays "Steffi Millington" a charming but hawklike fashion model married to a fumbling author. On the night of the murder, they are visited by "Vera Kurton" (Eleanor Summerfield), the wife of Mr. Carling's business partner "Jack Kurton" (Hubert Gregg). Vera is very flustered to find out that her hubby was the last person to see Carling alive. She doesn't know about the mobster (only the audience does) and is worried that Jack will be implicated. Steffi Millington gives her an alibi and tells her to stick with it if the police come. Steffi is trying to protect the Kurtons, but why? It seems like she knows something we don't. Later, Inspector Mallory finds out about Jack Kurton's visit to see Mr. Carling. This destroys Vera's alibi and shines a spotlight on Steffi Millington, who - as it turns out - was having an affair with Mr. Carling, who was an unsavory character to say the least. She knows about the man who built his secret chamber. He's recently been released from an asylum for the criminally insane. The police know nothing about him, and Steffi tries to deflect their attention away by telling them he's been declared harmless. She trying to buy time so she can sneak over to Carling's mansion. But why? Is she in cahoots with the mobster? Is she trying to cover up evidence that the police have not yet found? "The Third Visitor" has the kind of odd characters you'd see in an Agatha Christie movie, but the style is British Noir. Every time Inspector Mallory turns up, there's another twist to the plot, but the real whopper is the ending. In the last three minutes you'll be thrown for several loops. The essential thing is Vera's alibi, and the writing on the wall in Carling's living room. Sonia Dresdel knocks it out of the park as Steffi. Two Huge Thumbs Up for "The Third Visitor". The picture is very good. ////
Because the previous night was the 4th of July, I didn't watch a movie (OMG! how did the Universe not collapse?), but luckily for all of us (and the Universe), I do have a motion picture in reserve, one that I watched as part of a dubble feechum a week or so ago, called "A Distant Trumpet"(1964). I got it on dvd from the Libe, after doing a search on Raoul Walsh films. It's what they call a Cavalry Western. Troy Donohue stars as "Lieutenant Matt Hazard", a West Point-trained officer called to Fort Delivery, an outpost in the Arizona desert, to shore up discipline and lead the hunt for "Chief War Eagle", the last of the Apache holdouts. War Eagle and his tribe of Chiricahuas are rebelling against the relocation of all American Indians that took place in the 1880s. They're thought to be in Mexico, and "General Quaint" (James Gregory), would just as soon let them stay there, but War Eagle is sending warriors across the border on hit-and-run missions against the settlers, who he feels are on his land. The latest strike is an attack on a stagecoach. "Lt. Manwaring" (William Reynolds), is sent out to rescue the survivors, but he and his men are also killed by Apaches lying in wait. Now the War Department gets involved. The Indian Wars were supposed to be over, but the Secretary of War (Kent Smith) wants War Eagle dead. General Quaint argues against this, because it will inflame other tribes who have agreed to the resettlement. He is also a comrade of War Eagle's from battles past. Not friends, perhaps, but not enemies either. Gen. Quaint decides to send Lt. Hazard on a secret mission into Mexico to make peace with War Eagle, by promising him safe passage by the Army if he'll agree to settle in his former homeland. Quaint includes a guarantee that the reservation will be on Chiricahua land. But the thing is, he doesn't yet have the approval of the War Secretary to make such a promise. It's up to Lt. Hazard to sell it by convincing War Eagle, in order to bring an end to the Indian Wars.
The movie was based on (according to Wiki) an historically accurate book, and it's very well done, but because it's an A-list picture (with tremendous landscape photography), the studio must've felt the need to take advantage of Troy Donohue's hunk status, by including a romantic triangle. Now, we all love Suzanne Pleshette, and she's good here as always as the widow of the slain Lt. Manwaring. But there's little reason to have her fall for Lt. Hazard, especially with such a historic tale being told, other than to pad the running time (sell more popcorn, perhaps?), and then on top of that, Lt. Hazard has a wife, whose father just so happens to be.......you guessed it : General Quaint. The thing is, she hates the Indians but her Pa is trying to make peace with them. She shows up to find Hazard in Pleshette's arms. All it does is add 30 minutes to a movie that would've been perfect at 85 minutes. Had it been pared down (and also some of the boot-camp discipline stuff; we get it, the enlisted men hate the West Pointer), director Walsh would've had a minor classic. Instead, because of the bloat, it gets docked from Two Huge down to Two Big Thumbs. It's still a definite recommendation though, for the history and the awesome photography. It's on dvd so the picture is razor sharp of course, but you can't find it for free on Youtube. You've gotta use the Libe or Netflix, or some other service, but it's definitely a good one. ////
And that's all I know for tonight. I'm listening to the first Egg album (a classic) and I send you Tons of Love as always! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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