The wildcard that makes this well-groomed British murder mystery (set at a hospital during WWII) more than the sum of its parts is Alastair Sims as a highly eccentric detective. Like a cat playing with a mouse before dispatching the poor thing, he attacks his part with delicious malice and lethal wit. Sidney Gilliat writes & directs without his regular partner Frank Launder, who was busy on the superb I SEE A DARK STRANGER. Gilliat was no great shakes behind the camera, spacial relationships elude him which lets down the tension at critical moments, but he maintains a good pace and cast a wonderful ensemble as his doctor & nurse suspects. Trevor Howard & Leo Genn (super smooth as a womanizer with a cultivated voice) are excellent and, if the women aren’t as well known in the States, they’re just as fine, especially Megs Jenkins.
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