Three Silent Men (1940) Online

Unlike the other reviewer on this site, I found THREE SILENT MEN quite dull despite elements of interest in the narrative. It feels very much like a 1930s murder mystery updated to the then-present day, 1940, which leads to the addition of a plot involving an unnamed enemy country and the development of technology to help that country win the war. I'm not sure why Germany wasn't named after we had declared war at that stage, but the implications are clear.

The opening sequences are a bit fuddled although the direction of the scenes involving the speeding car are quite fun. After this point the film settles down into becoming a traditional murder mystery with the finger of suspicion pointed at top surgeon Sebastian Shaw (RETURN OF THE JEDI). Despite the short running time this is a film that feels very dragged out and many of the comedy scenes involving the drunken yokels and the in-fighting of the reporters do nothing to add to the plot in any way. Things only get lively at the very end. A youthful Andre Morell, future Hammer star, plays in support.

an inventor offers his invention to the British army on condition that the government forge an alliance with a country who want to see the end of our empire.Driving away from the demonstration of the equipment the inventor has a near fatal crash,but his life is saved by a surgeon.However everyone agrees that it would be better if the inventor had died.The inventor is murdered and the surgeon is suspected.However there are other suspects who might be guilty.Whilst the mystery is well handled,nevertheless there are a few unexplained events.Why was the surgeon in the inventors room and why was he creeping about in the medical cabinet with a torch.There is some comedy introduced with reporters vying for the story and a touch of romance with a very young Patricia Roc.An entertaining 67 minutes.

Wordy war-time espionage mystery. Screened by Talking Pictures TV and very unusually for them, a poor print and crackly sound track but no doubt the best available. Nothing special - a B feature. But that doesn't mean it is without interest.

In 1950, ten years later, fictionally and filmicly, Britain, in particular London,was under a (then very new) unimaginably terrible threat in "7 Days to Noon". The situation called for the calmest and most capable of men to investigate against a short deadline. Who - or rather which actor - did they call? Andre Morelle. And later, in 1957 when London and perhaps the world faced an even more serious (fictional demonic) threat in "Quatermass and the Pit" - who did they call? Andre Morelle. Who else could convey such intelligence, gravitas intensity,command and competence?

But Morelle was equally quietly formidable as a foreign baddie in "Unpublished Story", able to convey instant silent menace. Here, as Klein, a foreign agent, Morelle conveys moments of intense malice with just a look and is the outstanding player in a competent cast.