This historical mystery/drama is set in the 1860s in England and we see Sidney Greenstreet writing with a quill pen, although metal nibs were first manufactured in England in 1822 and the quill pen had been largely replaced.
The viewer will most likely put more effort into untangling the various intrigues and plots than the director put into bothering about pens. And it does take effort to untangle those intrigues and plots. There are mysterious clues all over the place, popping up here and there, in a suspicious glance, a resigned tone, or a slight stiffening of the body. There is a solution, but it comes all atumble at the very end, from one of the characters, just before he gets a tough love version of retributive justice, namely a dagger in the back. It seems to startle him.
The performances are okay. The best is the outrageously overacted role of Frederick Fairlie by John Abbott. He's a peremptory hypochondriac, constantly browbeating the ever faithful servant Louie and making imperious demands on everyone around him. The other characters seem like mannequins compared to old Fred.
To be honest, I found it a long hard trundle. The adaptation is clumsy, really. Gig Young, the protagonist, and Eleanor Parker, the heiress, have exchanged one or two words before Young falls deeply in love. I've never read the novel but I would guess that the happy ending was tacked on by Warners for commercial reasons, but maybe not.
The viewer will most likely put more effort into untangling the various intrigues and plots than the director put into bothering about pens. And it does take effort to untangle those intrigues and plots. There are mysterious clues all over the place, popping up here and there, in a suspicious glance, a resigned tone, or a slight stiffening of the body. There is a solution, but it comes all atumble at the very end, from one of the characters, just before he gets a tough love version of retributive justice, namely a dagger in the back. It seems to startle him.
The performances are okay. The best is the outrageously overacted role of Frederick Fairlie by John Abbott. He's a peremptory hypochondriac, constantly browbeating the ever faithful servant Louie and making imperious demands on everyone around him. The other characters seem like mannequins compared to old Fred.
To be honest, I found it a long hard trundle. The adaptation is clumsy, really. Gig Young, the protagonist, and Eleanor Parker, the heiress, have exchanged one or two words before Young falls deeply in love. I've never read the novel but I would guess that the happy ending was tacked on by Warners for commercial reasons, but maybe not.