Friday, April 17, 2020

The Key Man (1957)

A light and undemanding crime drama. Lionel Hulme (Lee Patterson) is the presenter of a popular true crime show on the radio. When he investigates the case of a convicted murder Smithers (Philip Leaver) who has now been released but gone to ground. Smithers is thought to have been behind an unsolved robbery. Lionel and a mysterious hidden bad guy are both trying to find where Smithers hid the loot...

Lionel tracks down Smithers with the help of Smither's gal Gaby (Hy Hazel) and he agrees to split the loot with Lionel but Lionel has to retrieve it himself from a safety deposit box...

The film is competent if not thrilling and with a rather simple plot though does have some nice stylish flourishes including a fight in a barber shop. In tone the film is not unlike a comic strip or 1930s serial and that isn't a bad thing by any means.