Friday, December 1, 2023

Venetian Bird (1952)

A grimy and Noir-ish crime drama set in glamorous Venice's seedy under belly.

Private detective Mercer (Richard Todd) has come to Vice to locate a former resistance fighter on behalf of an insurance company. However, locating this man is proving difficult especially as his informant is soon found dead! Mercer thinks the man is linked to a gallery where Adriana (Eva Bartok) works and lives. Despite news that the man he is seeking died in the war, Mercer is sure he is still alive though this puts him at odds with a tough gang who have a dark plan of their own...

An enjoyable film is fairly static at times but the portrayal of the grimy life of Mercer (which the limited budget probably helped with) works really well, the final chase on the roof tops is thrilling though. Look out for Sid James giving possibly the worst impression of an Italian hardman ever!