Bill Williams was a reliable actor who specialised in "nice guy" roles. His main claim to fame was his marriage to Barbara Hale (TV's Della Street) and after their marriage they were paired in films like "A Likely Story" and "The Clay Pigeon". "The Clay Pigeon" was a better than average programmer with class A credentials - director Richard Fleisher (he later directed "Compulsion" and "The Boston Strangler") and screenwriter Carl Foreman ("Champion" and "The Men").
Seaman James Fletcher (Bill Williams) awakes in the United States Naval Hospital from a coma, to find hostility among the staff - one of the other patients even tries to strangle him. He can't understand why then overhears he is to be charged with treason. He knows, deep down, he could not have been guilty of such a crime and escapes to try to find out the truth. His memory starts to return and he looks up an old friend - Mark Gregory. He is made welcome by Martha Gregory (Barbara Hale) but he happens to see an article in the papers - police are searching for him in connection with Mark Gregory's death!!! After a tussle with Martha - she had been secretly trying to ring the police, he gets in contact with Ted Niles (Richard Quine) - the three of them had called "The Three Musketeers" during the War, and Ted grudgingly agrees to help him. Williams plays James in a very aggressive way - I can understand Martha's reluctance to believe him at first.
Something doesn't add up and it doesn't take long to realise who the real villain is - James and Martha are deliberately run off the road when they are on their way to Ted's. James is also experiencing black- outs and flashbacks. He was tortured and flogged by a Japanese prison guard, nicknamed "The Weasel" (Richard Loo, who was kept pretty busy during the 1940s, playing assorted POW guards and heavies). They finally get to L.A. but while at a Chinese restaurant James sees "The Weasel" and also encounters the same two goons who tried to run them off the road. They still count Ted as their friend and he tells them he will put a private detective on "The Weasel's" trail - or does he!!!
This is an excellent little film and for 63 minutes the pace doesn't let up. Beautiful Barbara Hale had quite a dramatic role that required more of her than being mere set decoration. Richard Quine had been a child actor but had turned his talents to directing as well as acting. He was also married to the tragic Susan Peters. Martha Hyer had one of her early bits, as a brunette, as Miss Harwick, Wheeler's receptionist.
Recommended.
Seaman James Fletcher (Bill Williams) awakes in the United States Naval Hospital from a coma, to find hostility among the staff - one of the other patients even tries to strangle him. He can't understand why then overhears he is to be charged with treason. He knows, deep down, he could not have been guilty of such a crime and escapes to try to find out the truth. His memory starts to return and he looks up an old friend - Mark Gregory. He is made welcome by Martha Gregory (Barbara Hale) but he happens to see an article in the papers - police are searching for him in connection with Mark Gregory's death!!! After a tussle with Martha - she had been secretly trying to ring the police, he gets in contact with Ted Niles (Richard Quine) - the three of them had called "The Three Musketeers" during the War, and Ted grudgingly agrees to help him. Williams plays James in a very aggressive way - I can understand Martha's reluctance to believe him at first.
Something doesn't add up and it doesn't take long to realise who the real villain is - James and Martha are deliberately run off the road when they are on their way to Ted's. James is also experiencing black- outs and flashbacks. He was tortured and flogged by a Japanese prison guard, nicknamed "The Weasel" (Richard Loo, who was kept pretty busy during the 1940s, playing assorted POW guards and heavies). They finally get to L.A. but while at a Chinese restaurant James sees "The Weasel" and also encounters the same two goons who tried to run them off the road. They still count Ted as their friend and he tells them he will put a private detective on "The Weasel's" trail - or does he!!!
This is an excellent little film and for 63 minutes the pace doesn't let up. Beautiful Barbara Hale had quite a dramatic role that required more of her than being mere set decoration. Richard Quine had been a child actor but had turned his talents to directing as well as acting. He was also married to the tragic Susan Peters. Martha Hyer had one of her early bits, as a brunette, as Miss Harwick, Wheeler's receptionist.
Recommended.