A run-down cinema late at night. With the customers making their way home, the commissioner heads to the manager's office to hand over (presumably) a note of the takings. But the manager has company. An hour or so later, we see a young, blonde usherette exit his office and towards the staff room to get her coat. Only someone is waiting for her.....
A previous reviewer describes this movie as "poverty row" which tickled me as I find it hard to believe the budget for this thriller would have stretched much beyond a few hundred pounds - and that supplied by the News of the World on the understanding they're portrayed as being forever one step ahead of the police.
The story itself is nothing special, there are no real twists in it, no stand-out performances. The editing is iffy at best, much of the dialogue is unintelligible due to the low quality.
But this is worth putting up with for two specific reasons. The first is the location photography. Filmed in and around Fleet Street itself, we see numerous rather artistically framed shots of a bomb-damaged London. Indeed, 20 years later, London was still recovering from the damage inflicted by the Luftwaffe.
The second reason was quite unexpected and one which earned the killer a degree of sympathy from me. Whilst taking refuge in a church, he is offered a chance to play the organ. As this takes place, we see his mind drift back to happier times when he and the usherette were courting. For once in his otherwise miserable life, he was happy. He felt part of the human race. And then she ripped that away from him, presumably by giving him the elbow.
It doesn't excuse his actions (or his subsequent action) but it did add a dimension to his character I didn't expect.
I don't know if the ending was some sort of homage to the Keystone Cops or not but that's what it reminded me in.
We do see the killer's face right at the end - and those who are acquainted with "Dead Of Night" may recognise him.
Oh - and I love the soundtrack that's used throughout. Reminds me in "Carnival Of Souls".