The body of an Oxford professor is found floating on the Thames. Superintendent Wills and Sgt. Stillman of Scotland Yard investigate the homicide which also involves the theft of three ancient artefacts from the far eastern country of Kytang. It is an average production from the Merton Park Studios series of Edgar Wallace films with an implausible narrative but it is enhanced by some good location cinematography by Bert Mason, particularly along the sunny River Thames.
It does have a good cast of familiar faces but they don't have much meat to exercise their acting chops. Still, a movie with such able character actors like John Glyn-Jones, Wilfrid Brambell, Ric Young, Yvonne Buckingham, William Gaunt, John Horsley, Burt Kwouk, Lesley Nunnerley and Patrick Allen is one to watch. The film needed a bit more pace to lift it above being just OK. There is a martial arts element that is interesting but the judo/karate fight at the end isn't quite Yuen Woo-Ping quality to say the least.
The film is called 'The Sinister Man' but no character really was sinister, even the main villain so that was puzzling, more puzzling indeed than the actual plot..
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