Tom Conway plays Tom Conway in this lacklustre thriller with too many red herrings and an over imaginative scriptwriter.For example just what does Michael Ripper have to do with the plot.Precious little.When we find out the reason for his visits to the fashion house it is rather underwhelming.Why do the police assume that the customer committed suicide,surely a bit unlikely in the circumstances.If the police believed that every time a fugitive picked up a box and said it was a bomb they would never capture anyone.Eric Pohlman being stabbed in the middle of a car park by the murderer,rather implausible.By the climax there had been too many twists and turns and I had rather lost interest.
11 Reviews
Come For The Jewel Theft, Stay For The Murder. Or Don't.
boblipton8 December 2020
Private Eye Tom Conway is checking into a jewel theft at a fashion house when a corpse shows up. An appropriately tangled mystery develops, but it's handled in such a dull fashion that I didn't follow it fully. Conway wanders about like he wish he were back at the RKO lot performing in his brother's cast-offs. Roger Delgado -- best remembered as the first "Master" on Doctor Who has a bit of fun bluffing his henchmen, and there are some nice-looking women playing dress models, but it's all handled so efficiently that there's nothing worthwhile.
The Case of the Missing Rubies
richardchatten16 July 2022
Despite the title it's not a vampire film but a talkative drama set around a fashion house and refers to the colour of a fabric. Tom Conway plays a laconic detective called - guess what? - 'Tom Conway' and apart from the rather petulant looking models the scariest thing is probably Eric Pohlmann's ferocious haircut.
Murder is literally in fashion!
mark.waltz3 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Opening up with a jewel robbery in a prominent house of fashion (hats, furs, evening dresses), this Hammer murder mystery is intriguing at first but has a very slow moving center section that brings the action to a halt, only regaining momentum towards the conclusion. The initial scenes is followed by scenes later in the fashion house where a demanding matron (Margaret Halstan) distracts a model from imparting important evidence onto detective Tom Conway, playing a man named Tom Conway.
After the model is brutally killed, falling over a banister broken in the jewel robbery, the nasty Halstan is killed too, in a very violent manner. All fingers point to the imperious Eric Pohlmann who seems to be guilty by removing a crucial piece of evidence, but he too is killed. Evidently someone involved in the fashion house is the guilty party, interested in the blood orange dress that has been recently manufactured and earlier desired by Halstan.
The glamorous setup provides some interesting possibilities for a complex plot that gets a bit bizarre in spots, but most murder mysteries need that level of a convoluted bit of plot twists to engage its audience. Good editing, photography and lighting design adds to the often violent atmosphere that includes some memorable femme fatales and sinister villains, but something is missing. Still good performances and a witty Conway hell's prevent this from being a complete misfire.
After the model is brutally killed, falling over a banister broken in the jewel robbery, the nasty Halstan is killed too, in a very violent manner. All fingers point to the imperious Eric Pohlmann who seems to be guilty by removing a crucial piece of evidence, but he too is killed. Evidently someone involved in the fashion house is the guilty party, interested in the blood orange dress that has been recently manufactured and earlier desired by Halstan.
The glamorous setup provides some interesting possibilities for a complex plot that gets a bit bizarre in spots, but most murder mysteries need that level of a convoluted bit of plot twists to engage its audience. Good editing, photography and lighting design adds to the often violent atmosphere that includes some memorable femme fatales and sinister villains, but something is missing. Still good performances and a witty Conway hell's prevent this from being a complete misfire.
Gowns By Worth
kidboots18 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Impeccably groomed Tom Conway could easily have found his own special movie niche but he had the misfortune to be always in the shadow of his more renowned brother, George Sanders. Even when he replaced his brother in the Falcon series and proved more popular with cinema audiences, once the series finished (and it ran for years) he was in limbo. Like many Hollywood actors with their heyday behind them, he went to England where his debonair accent fitted in well with "Blood Orange", a murder mystery set in the world of high fashion. Interesting, even though he was born in Russia, posters made much of the fact that he was a Hollywood star.
He plays private investigator Tom Conway (I'm positive that one of the models greets him with "Mr. Conway, I've seen all your pictures"!) brought in by the owner of the fashion house "Pascall" to investigate a jewel robbery that occurred on the premises. Things start to happen when a fussy woman customer accuses a model of wearing some rubies that were stolen from her the year before - everyone regards her as a crackpot but when the model dies in a fall from a broken barrier and Lady Marjorie (the crackpot) is murdered at her flat, both women wearing a distinctive blood orange gown, suddenly Scotland Yard is called in. And it takes them a while to decide that the older lady has been murdered!!
Richard Wattis (he of countless prissy roles in later movies and TV) plays the young inspector who reluctantly teams up with Conway who is keenly romancing one of the models, Gina. Naomi Chance was glamorous enough to be paired with several American stars dipping their feet in English waters. As one reviewer said there were too many red herrings and it threw the plot into chaos. Mr. Mercedes (Eric Pohlman), initially a sinister character flanked by goons who do his dirty work seems a likely suspect but he is soon out of it, stabbed in broad daylight in a public park!!! Then there is Eddie, always hanging around and giving Conway an ominous speech - who are these people?? Hilarious scene where Mr. Mercedes scares everyone by hinting that a harmless gift is really a dangerous bomb and despite the police presence manages to escape!!
He plays private investigator Tom Conway (I'm positive that one of the models greets him with "Mr. Conway, I've seen all your pictures"!) brought in by the owner of the fashion house "Pascall" to investigate a jewel robbery that occurred on the premises. Things start to happen when a fussy woman customer accuses a model of wearing some rubies that were stolen from her the year before - everyone regards her as a crackpot but when the model dies in a fall from a broken barrier and Lady Marjorie (the crackpot) is murdered at her flat, both women wearing a distinctive blood orange gown, suddenly Scotland Yard is called in. And it takes them a while to decide that the older lady has been murdered!!
Richard Wattis (he of countless prissy roles in later movies and TV) plays the young inspector who reluctantly teams up with Conway who is keenly romancing one of the models, Gina. Naomi Chance was glamorous enough to be paired with several American stars dipping their feet in English waters. As one reviewer said there were too many red herrings and it threw the plot into chaos. Mr. Mercedes (Eric Pohlman), initially a sinister character flanked by goons who do his dirty work seems a likely suspect but he is soon out of it, stabbed in broad daylight in a public park!!! Then there is Eddie, always hanging around and giving Conway an ominous speech - who are these people?? Hilarious scene where Mr. Mercedes scares everyone by hinting that a harmless gift is really a dangerous bomb and despite the police presence manages to escape!!
Curious orange.....neither juicy, nor zesty
kalbimassey22 August 2023
Is this a record? Barely five minutes in and I was already becoming disengaged from this tedious, talky, turkey. Less than an hour later and a suitable get out clause appears to be beckoning. If all concerned had simply signed on the dotted line, we would have been spared a further thirty minutes of this dreck. Yes! Thirty minutes, as in extra time at the end of a drab, dreary, scrappy game between two teams, who inspire little enthusiasm or passion.
It's a jewel theft caper, which soon escalates into a murder case. Enter suave, debonair private investigator, Tom Conway (just as big a pain in the neck for the cops, as he is for the criminals) sporting a top of the range raincoat, with a belt that could circumnavigate his waist twice over and sufficient material in the extravagant collar, sundry flaps, pads and lapels to make another coat.
The fact that Conway is cast as...er...Tom Conway, in itself, indicates the movie's paucity of imagination, flair, purpose, substance and drive, coupled with an arrant failure to grasp the rudiments of building tension and suspense. No!....Don't even ask about excitement.
Even the final, unanticipated plot twist only marginally raises the temperature of this tepid, tiresome yarn. This film contains scenes that some viewers may find about as riveting as watching paint dry.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: Eileen Way's visionary insight on the future of Australian Rock. "He's not a punk. He's a Go Between."
It's a jewel theft caper, which soon escalates into a murder case. Enter suave, debonair private investigator, Tom Conway (just as big a pain in the neck for the cops, as he is for the criminals) sporting a top of the range raincoat, with a belt that could circumnavigate his waist twice over and sufficient material in the extravagant collar, sundry flaps, pads and lapels to make another coat.
The fact that Conway is cast as...er...Tom Conway, in itself, indicates the movie's paucity of imagination, flair, purpose, substance and drive, coupled with an arrant failure to grasp the rudiments of building tension and suspense. No!....Don't even ask about excitement.
Even the final, unanticipated plot twist only marginally raises the temperature of this tepid, tiresome yarn. This film contains scenes that some viewers may find about as riveting as watching paint dry.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: Eileen Way's visionary insight on the future of Australian Rock. "He's not a punk. He's a Go Between."
Shady Hammer mystery
Leofwine_draca12 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Another early Hammer mystery flick, once again starring Tom Conway with his pencil moustache and directed by Terence Fisher, who adds elements of interest here and there. This one's set in a fashion house which made it feel like a bit of a forerunner to Bava's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, although obviously much creakier and dated in look; it's also pretty low budget. The mystery stops and starts in the first half but picks up speed in the second, with various twists, femme fatales, and surprises seeing it through to the climax. The supporting cast isn't too bad either, with Hammer stalwarts Michael Ripper and Roger Delgado both appearing as shady figures and Eric Pohlmann doing his bit.
Mr. Mercedes.
DoorsofDylan26 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Taking a look at Talking Pictures free online catch-up service, I was surprised to spot a title directed by Terence Fisher that I had not heard of before, was about to leave the site, leading to me peeling the blood orange.
View on the film:
Detailed in the wonderful Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema by Tony Dalton that this was the movie which wrapped up the filmmaker's first contract with Hammer studio, directing auteur Terence Fisher & his regular cinematographer of this era Walter J. Harvey bring the hammer down, and point towards what was to come from Hammer.
Drenching the opening robbery in Film Noir low-lighting, Fisher casts his distinctive ominous atmosphere in wonderful, extended dialogue-free sequences gliding towards sharp panning shots landing on a murder set-piece, and stylish tracking shots, staying next to the private investigator unraveling the case.
Joined by the marvelous Delphi Lawrence, Michael Ripper, Richard Wattis and (possibly) Christine Forrest, Tom Conway gives a very good performance as, Tom Conway, with Conway capturing Conway's hard-nose, Noir loner determination, whilst The Rules of the Game (1939-also reviewed) co-star Mila Parely gives an alluring, deadly Femme Fatale turn as Helen.
Later becoming a writer of wine and travel books, the compact screenplay by Jan Read draws tension from Conway shoving aside all those who are attempting to discourage/ block on him investigating a mystery, that Read sadly does little to hide the guilty parties, as Conway peels open the layers of an orange.
View on the film:
Detailed in the wonderful Terence Fisher: Master of Gothic Cinema by Tony Dalton that this was the movie which wrapped up the filmmaker's first contract with Hammer studio, directing auteur Terence Fisher & his regular cinematographer of this era Walter J. Harvey bring the hammer down, and point towards what was to come from Hammer.
Drenching the opening robbery in Film Noir low-lighting, Fisher casts his distinctive ominous atmosphere in wonderful, extended dialogue-free sequences gliding towards sharp panning shots landing on a murder set-piece, and stylish tracking shots, staying next to the private investigator unraveling the case.
Joined by the marvelous Delphi Lawrence, Michael Ripper, Richard Wattis and (possibly) Christine Forrest, Tom Conway gives a very good performance as, Tom Conway, with Conway capturing Conway's hard-nose, Noir loner determination, whilst The Rules of the Game (1939-also reviewed) co-star Mila Parely gives an alluring, deadly Femme Fatale turn as Helen.
Later becoming a writer of wine and travel books, the compact screenplay by Jan Read draws tension from Conway shoving aside all those who are attempting to discourage/ block on him investigating a mystery, that Read sadly does little to hide the guilty parties, as Conway peels open the layers of an orange.
early Hammer mystery programmer, with Tom "Falcon" Conway
django-127 July 2003
No great analysis needed here...a solid mystery with Tom Conway playing a private detective, ex-FBI, named...Tom Conway! The plot involves a jewel heist in the fashion industry, a crime that eventually grows into two murders. Conway is eventually asked to drop the case, and of course there is no better way to get a movie detective to devote himself to a case then to drop him from it! This was made during the period in the early 50s when Hammer made a number of low-budget mystery programmers with American stars such as Dane Clark and Forrest Tucker and Alex Nicol and Tom Conway (although we yanks think of him as British because of the accent, any time I see a British reference to him, he's called "american star Tom Conway," no doubt because his film success was here in the US). This one is a solid piece of work, which plays much like a 50s crime TV show. By this time Conway could play a detective in his sleep, and he lends his usual touch of jaded class to the film. The supporting cast is colorful, and as always director Terence Fisher keeps things moving quickly. Recommended to mystery and/or Tom Conway fans. Nothing special or original here otherwise...
"Roger Bannister".
southdavid22 April 2023
Having been unable to find a free copy of the last couple of films they've covered, the Internet Archive again came up trumps for this film, that I wanted to watch alongside the "House of Hammer" podcast. Released as "Three Stops to Murder" in the US, the film, from 1953 did enough to keep my attention throughout it's relatively short running time.
Investigator Tom Conway (err... Tom Conway) is called in when his employer has some jewels stolen from the fashion house that they were loaned too. When there is a suggestion that the Jewels previously belonged to a patron of the house and were already stolen, Conway is asked to drop the case by Mr Mercedes (Eric Pohlmann). However, when a model, who has told Conway she had some information for him, dies, he is honour bound to continue to work.
Being able to hold my attention throughout is not something that all these Hammer films have managed, so, the fact that I stayed with this one throughout is testament to how enjoyable it is. A lot of that was probably because it looks like Conway is having a good time with a frothy investigator role, which seems essentially to involve flirting with the models long enough for one of them to tell him what's going on. Nice work if you can get it. No idea why his character is also called Tom Conway though? This is another film directed by Terence Fisher, who directed "The Last Page", "Wings of Danger", "Stolen Face" and "Four-Sided Triangle" for Hammer so far, generally I think I've enjoyed his films, but I'm still wanting to get to the classics Horrors that would follow in a few years. There were a few faces familiar to me from the supporting cast. I have to admit that I didn't spot Roger Delgado, but I did note Richard Wattis, who I recognised from a string of upper-class foil roles, most famously I think in the St Trinian's films.
I would say that it suffers from two problems that many of the Hammer films from this period to, one that the fight scenes are comically bad and also that the ending is so abrupt it's jarring.
On the whole, one of the better efforts I've watched for the podcast though.
Investigator Tom Conway (err... Tom Conway) is called in when his employer has some jewels stolen from the fashion house that they were loaned too. When there is a suggestion that the Jewels previously belonged to a patron of the house and were already stolen, Conway is asked to drop the case by Mr Mercedes (Eric Pohlmann). However, when a model, who has told Conway she had some information for him, dies, he is honour bound to continue to work.
Being able to hold my attention throughout is not something that all these Hammer films have managed, so, the fact that I stayed with this one throughout is testament to how enjoyable it is. A lot of that was probably because it looks like Conway is having a good time with a frothy investigator role, which seems essentially to involve flirting with the models long enough for one of them to tell him what's going on. Nice work if you can get it. No idea why his character is also called Tom Conway though? This is another film directed by Terence Fisher, who directed "The Last Page", "Wings of Danger", "Stolen Face" and "Four-Sided Triangle" for Hammer so far, generally I think I've enjoyed his films, but I'm still wanting to get to the classics Horrors that would follow in a few years. There were a few faces familiar to me from the supporting cast. I have to admit that I didn't spot Roger Delgado, but I did note Richard Wattis, who I recognised from a string of upper-class foil roles, most famously I think in the St Trinian's films.
I would say that it suffers from two problems that many of the Hammer films from this period to, one that the fight scenes are comically bad and also that the ending is so abrupt it's jarring.
On the whole, one of the better efforts I've watched for the podcast though.
I don't think Christine Forrest was in this........
qasarzenith21 January 2021
I don't think the same Christine Forest from "Monkey Shines" or "Dawn of the dead" was in this unless she was a baby/ infant. Look up the title where it shows cast pics and it shows her husband , who probably would have been old enough to have been in this.
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