Interesting British-made suspenser - from an Agatha Christie story, no less - which feels quite dated today due to the low budget and a rather slow pace (though the atrocious condition in which it's available doesn't help matters any!), but survives nevertheless by virtue of its excellent leading performances.
I've watched Ann Harding in only a few other films - most notably PETER IBBETSON (1935) - but, even if she has been largely forgotten, here again she proves her standing as one of the unsung actresses of her time. Basil Rathbone relishes his role as the suave murderer and the latter stages of the film allow him to go into all-out hysterics in much the same way (and under the same director!) as he would, memorably, in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939); in fact, the last 15 minutes create a genuinely electrifying tension that are basically the film's raison d'etre.
Rowland V. Lee has perhaps never been a highly regarded film-maker but, from what little I've seen of his work, he was a reasonably efficient craftsman and, given promising material, he always turned in a quality product (the two films of his I would most love to catch up with are the definitive screen version of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO [1934] and TOWER OF London [1939], yet another Rathbone collaboration).
I've watched Ann Harding in only a few other films - most notably PETER IBBETSON (1935) - but, even if she has been largely forgotten, here again she proves her standing as one of the unsung actresses of her time. Basil Rathbone relishes his role as the suave murderer and the latter stages of the film allow him to go into all-out hysterics in much the same way (and under the same director!) as he would, memorably, in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939); in fact, the last 15 minutes create a genuinely electrifying tension that are basically the film's raison d'etre.
Rowland V. Lee has perhaps never been a highly regarded film-maker but, from what little I've seen of his work, he was a reasonably efficient craftsman and, given promising material, he always turned in a quality product (the two films of his I would most love to catch up with are the definitive screen version of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO [1934] and TOWER OF London [1939], yet another Rathbone collaboration).