source: Jigsaw

A well constructed, gripping and complex story line, which keeps the audience guessing right to the end as to the identify of the killer. Jack Warner plays the world weary, hard bitten detective with Ronald Lewis playing his assistant and nephew. The dialogue is realistic, with pushy news reporters buzzing around Warner and his colleagues, trying to pick up any juicy morsels of information for their readers. The story moves along at a brisk pace with constant twists and turns to maintain the audience's interest as Warner endeavours to trace the murderer. Plenty of solid character acting performances. Brian Oulton is particularly good as the officious and bad tempered estate agent. Also, special mention must be made of Yolande Donlan, who excels in a cameo role as the wronged and jilted woman. However, the pivotal role, and the 'glue' which holds the picture together is played by Jack Warner, whose waspish nature, resourcefulness and 'never say die attitude' eventually pays dividends in solving the bizarre murder mystery. For local historians, the film is a gem, since it shows some fascinating footage of Brighton and Lewes in 1962. I would definitely recommend this well acted and tense drama.

A pregnant girlfriend is murdered by her lover, who we the audience don't see. A police investigation follows. We get to see the investigation from the perspective of the police, lead by Jack Warner. Eventually the murderer is discovered. This is a wee gem of a film, set in and around Brighton in the early 1960's. Post-war austerity is fading, and the swinging sixties are just around the corner, but the Brighton area looks a little seedy and run down, for the most part, and the locals fit right it. The film is shot in black and white, which somehow suits the film rather better than colour might have. Jack Warner (better know to the audience as Dixon of Dock Green at that time)is promoted to Detective Inspector in this film and he plays the role convincingly enough; in fact overall, the whole cast is excellent. However I agree with another reviewer regarding Yolanda Donlan's performance; 'a little overwrought' indeed. Maybe the director's wife gets special treatment...? John Barron has a small role in this film. Many will have seen him in 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' in the 1970s, masterfully playing the irredeemably pompous and overbearing manager known as 'CJ'. John Le Mesurier has a great cameo role too. The film isn't fast-paced per se, but there isn't a moment in the ninety-odd that is wasted either. I found it quite engaging. Certainly worth watching, this one.

Never seen before but I must admit it was a real surprise.... thoroughly enjoyed it.... A great procedural crime drama and great to watch kept me engaged and interested....

But no reviewer gives this film anything other than a deserved high rating and most identify much of what makes it so watchable. I think it is no coincidence that the director is also the screenwriter. It means that dialogue can be quite spare at times because it will be visuals - glances between individuals - which tell the story. And this draws in the viewer - "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" says the detective to his colleague - no reply because he (and the viewer) are thinking the same. Nothing is over-played. A suspect is sitting in a room, with no announcement a detective brings in a witness, briefly introduces him to the suspect. Neither show any interest in the other. The detective and witness leave. Nothing is said but it has wordlessly made clear that a hopeful line of enquiry has suddenly turned into a dead end. And it may be no coincidence that veteran director Val Guest was formerly an actor. A screenwriter is concerned to tell a story - and the dialogue is divvied up between the cast. But perhaps most deadly of all is mere padding dialogue: "Cup of tea? Milk? How many sugars?" An actor in contrast is firstly playing a character so dialogue is as much sketching the character as advancing the plot. British film "Calculated Risk" 1963 is another example of very ordinary sounding dialogue lifting a production where the screenwriter was also an actor - and with character comes relationships. "what's my motivation" is the question always kept in mind and ensures the cast's focus throughout. Of course the top name screenwriters - the Alan Platers - come close. But here characters can almost be Dickensian with instantly recognisable ways of speaking "I've got a photographic memory" repeatedly says a minor but important witness. Realistic people who are excited and so gush irrelevancies that they don't stop when ushered out of the room, but audibly continue with the police constable waiting outside. Pace - I can see some of how this comes about. One thing is elimination of redundant film - an address might come over the police radio - cut to police car stopping outside the address. Yet there is no sense of hurry. Everything is given the necessary time. It's a measure of the film's qualities that there is such agreement about its merits - nobody fails to understand and appreciate it. Was it influenced by earlier American police procedurals? Has it been a model and inspiration till this day for British police dramas? I think it is yes to both. I'd suggest Dragnet for the first but so domesticated that the link is more tone than anything. For the second, decreasingly so as swagger, gloss and style come to predominate. And swagger, gloss and style are absent here.

Quite superb slow-burning British thriller which is just perfect on every level. The plot unwinds as the story progresses with an atmosphere that is so electric yet fits so aptly into it's old English black and white surroundings. The scenes of 1962 Brighton are just right, with great acting and a sublime script. A truly underrated classic piece of British cinema history.

I was drawn straight into this film from the opening scenes and I never lost concentration once. Furthermore I didn't manage to guess the final outcome. A very intriguing police investigation and very well acted by all involved. Films of this nature can only be enjoyed once. I am glad I took the time to watch it.

This film is based on the real Brighton Trunk murders that occurred in Massachusetts. The setting is changed to Brighton England, which gives the film a special atmosphere. The film opens with two lovers lying in bed. When her lover awakens, the woman announces that she is pregnant and nags him that they should be together always. He comes toward, she screams, and that's the end of the scene. Meanwhile, in Brighton, the police are investigating a break-in that occurred in a rental management company. The company's book of leases is the only thing stolen. Inspector Fred Fellows (Jack Warner) is brought in on the case. Fellows begins by looking at leases that were nearly expired. They find one of the houses deserted, except that in a trunk in the garage, they find a dismembered woman. Really excellent and intricate story that manages to be interesting and exciting despite the fact that the police have to do grunt work and run into dead ends. The acting is very good, and Val Guest, often a director for Hammer films, does a great job keeping the film moving. He also shows how people lived in that era, which was in a very basic, economical way. Ronald Lewis, Ray Barrett, Michael Goodliffe, and Guest's real-life wife, Yolande Donlan, are all very good. Highly recommended.

Writer/Director Val Guest had a Long and Varied Career. A Low-Budget Filmmaker that always tried to make His Films look Professional and was Not Afraid to Improvise and Loved Playing with the Tools of Cinema. His most Successful Films Critically were done for Hammer Studios in the Sci-Fi Genre. Here He made a "Police Procedural" and in the True Definition of the Genre. It is Nothing More than that and that's Exactly what it is and it Never Strays from Format. What Guest does to make it seem More than that, is the Pacing. It has a Frenetic Style of Rapid Dialog and Quick Moving Scenes. No Passage of Banter or Anything is wasted. It's Economically Energetic and has a Sense of Urgency befitting the Lack of Clues, and the Legwork, and Heavy Lifting needed to Piece Together this "Jigsaw". The Movie is a bit Long but Never Seems Dull or Boring. Helped by one of England's Actor Icons Jack Warner, who made His Name doing exactly what He is doing here. Solving Crimes on the Telly. Worth a Watch for Val Guest's Intense Crafting, Jack Warner as an Aging and Cynical Policeman, and for its Crackerjack Plot. You have No Clue throughout what Prize Piece of the Puzzle will Pop Up or When.

I bought this film on E bay a couple of months ago but never got around to watching it until last night, wished I had watched it sooner and I will again before long. Firstly I should say that the copy I have is not brilliant but I can follow the dialogue easily enough. The film is set in Brighton, it is a murder mystery with Jack Warner excelling as the Inspector and Ronald Lewis as his Seargeant, seeking to track down the monster who mutilated a young woman. Great part played by Michael Goodliffe as the charming ladies man. Great pictures of Brighton in the sixties, I especially enjoyed the bit when Jack Warner missed the football match he was so looking forward to so he could investigate the crime, it turned out his local team got hammered! Great unexpected ending but a word of warning don't look at the IMDb cast list or it will give the game away. Highly enjoyable little known British thriller.