source: Wanted for Murder

Wanted for Murder

"Wanted for murder" is an investigation on a serial killer. We know from the beginning his identity, and the inspector quickly suspects him, so there is no real suspense, the story is mostly predictable. There are even some clues that are not exploited, or sometimes badly. The main interest is Eric Portman, discovering his illness, but Pressburger's script could have been more precise by checking some holes in the story. Max Green's photography is a must. This movie remains entertaining.

The most interesting aspect of this lacklustre thriller are the views that it gives us of post war austerity London.This is a thriller without a thrill.For some bizarre reason we know the killer from the beginning.The reason for his murderous impulses arise from the fact that his grandfather was the public hangman in Victorian Times.To add to the character he is also a hummus boy.The actors do their best with the material but some of them are miscast.In particular Dulcie Grey and Derick Farr.I cannot remember a bus conductor talking as if he was fresh from a Mayfair nightclub.I can only assume that this film has such a high,overrated mark,due to the prescience of Portman and writing of Pressburger.

Researchers into Powell & Pressburger habitually overlook the latter's solo credits, which are actually quite numerous and reveal that a romantic fascination with abnormal psychology was not exclusive to Powell. Although Pressburger later admitted that he never actually saw Powell's later 'Peeping Tom' this has definite marked similarities, including the depiction of the activities of a homicidal killer accompanied on the soundtrack by an tingling piano score. It also contains a powerful performance by Eric Portman who had already starred in three previous films for The Archers, most notoriously as the 'glue man' in 'A Canterbury Tale'.

It's all very nicely done. I had barely, if ever, heard of any of the leads in this movie before I saw it. I was expecting a sloppy film noir set in London, but it was a pleasant surprise when the dialogue and the players were as good as they are. The story is tight, mostly, and there is real tension and unexpected humor. Overall, it was very effective. I was particularly impressed with Eric Portman as Colebrooke. There was not much of a tradition playing sociopaths at this point in the movies. Of the few that had been portrayed, Cagney in "White Heat", for example, is much more histrionic and obvious than Portman is here. I might quibble with some plot points and some really heavy-handed staging, but really this is much like middle Hitchcock without all of the psychological mumbo-jumbo to push it along.

WANTED FOR MURDER is a distinctly British spin on the film noir genre, with an oldy worldy feel and some interesting characters, but it's never quite as engaging or as spooky as I hoped. Eric Portman plays the son of a hangman who ends up haunted by his father's profession and driven to the extreme. The horror aspects of the story are present but kept mostly off-screen, making this tame and dated for the most part; the best elements are those in a grisly wax museum with a delightful Wilfrid Hyde-White cameo. The film does well to cast strong character actors in support, including Kathleen Harrison and Stanley Holloway, but is otherwise a middling experience.

I love the fact that there is a wealth of unseen movies out there to discover, sometimes you unearth diamonds, sometimes you just find rubbish. Wanted for Murder is a worthy discovery, it begins very slowly, but opens up nicely, the real mystery being which planets some of the accents hail from, this era loved the terribly proper English accent, and the extreme working class alternative. I find the camera work ad filming very appealing, it somehow feels quite crisply put together,quite slick. Accents apart, it's very well acted, Eric Pittman is fantastic, brilliantly menacing, a huge on screen presence.. Roland Culver and Stanley Holloway are excellent, a great double act, with Holloway injecting a dash of humour. Some great cameos, Wilfred Hyde White and the lady purchasing a record, great fun. The audiences of the forties had a definite taste for mystery, and thank goodness for it. A gem, 8/10.

Don't be put off by the generic title. This is a film of subtlety and grace. Eric Portman is perfect as the troubled protagonist. Dulcie Gray enchants as the vulnerable yet strong-willed heroine. And the supporting cast is uniformly excellent. This is a variation on the Jack the Ripper theme. Someone is strangling young women, sending notes to Scotland Yard in advance. Ronald Culver is absolutely right as the chief inspector on the case. The psychology may be painted with slightly broad strokes. But the acting elevate that: The pain felt by all concerned is palpable. We do not admire the killer but we have understanding of the person's behavior. The victims and would-be victims are touching. And the attempts by secondary characters to help are persuasive and upsetting to us.

Erudite British effort where the strangler comes off as quite civilized. He's quite the gentleman, really, just has this problem with his hands. Really enjoyed Stanley Holloway as the #2-cop on the case. Stanley doesn't break into song but he does provide some comedic relief--subtle stuff, no slapstick. You can't help but be fascinated by the many views of London that are pictured (immediately after the war). The buses, street scenes, and various landmarks shown on film tell a story of their own. How times have changed--the record shop scene is a far cry from the rocking London that would follow 20 years later. This is well-written (Emeric Pressburger had a hand in that) story with characters that are decidely human, albeit in the English stiff-upper-lip school.