Yet another London fog mystery. And channeling the Jack the Ripper story to some extent, The Hour Of 13 uses one criminal (a thief played by Peter Lawford) to catch another (a serial killer of policemen known as The Terror).
Sir Herbert (Michael Horndern) runs Scotland Yard. His daughter Jane (Dawn Addams) is betrothed to Sir Christopher (Derek Boyd). Nicholas (Lawford) gets in Jane's good graces by clearing her fiancee as a suspect. He then proposes that he has a plan to catch the Terror; is her father interested?
Indeed he is. Nick's plan "shows a knowledge of the criminal mind." Wonder why that is. Jane supports him, but the cops aren't biting just yer; Jane basically says she'll collaborate with him. After all, she's privy to a loftof police business. Almost seems that Nick is playing another angle with her; that is, he's probably as interested in her as he us in finding out who the murderer is.
Not being dumb by any means, the cops pretty much figure out his game. Anyway, Jane invites him to meet Sir Christopher. The detective, Conner (Roland Carver) gets the idea of shadowing Nick. Nick tells Christopher of his vague plans. Oh, man here's another constable bobbing through his beat in the middle of the night: The Terror gets him.
Conner comes calling on Nick for a little "chat." Suddenly, Conner announces that they're going to implement his plan after all. It sounds like a set-up. On the way to Scotland Yard, Nick fobs off the priceless purloined emerald in the care of his cabbie friend, Ernie (Leslie Dwyer). We find that there's always a cryptic clue before each murder (we're up to 13 of those now).
Jane's still hanging out with Nick. And he's back to being at least a person of interest to Conner. I can't figure out how Nick is found more often in Jane's company than her actual fiancee. He admits to her that he's "a fraud." He tells Christopher that he's backing off of her, at any rate. She's not happy with that; she thinks he's in love with her, or was. Another warning, that is, another cop might get murdered. The cabbie tells Nick that they're "done for" as the police have connected both of them to the jewel robbery.
Nick literally connects the dots, and comes up with a cunning plan. The murders' locations make the shape of a 'T' geographically ('T' for The Terror). If Nick can foil the upcoming murder attempt, the police will look the other way on his little heist. Nick, dressed up as a constable, positions himself in the likely area for the murder. How he's going to deal with The Terror is a different question. So, the police, believing that Nick is the Terror, seek him out.
He relieved the officer who's actually on that beat: basically putting a target on his back; also, the regular cop doesn't buy Nick's story, and reports it. The Terror attacks Nick art right, but a ride let's Nick avoid getting speared by a sword. Nonetheless, the guy manages to shoot Nick. In a protracted chase and fight, Nick finally overcomes the Terror, who falls to his death. Somehow the emerald is found on the murderer. Nonetheless, Max confessed to his part in the theft; so Nick is still down on that count. The end.
It's fairly clear that Nick will probably not lose too much sleep from the robbery indictment; but it looks like the game is up with Jane. I kind of wish there was another scene with him and Jane; their would-be romance is a major subplot, although he has tactical reasons for shutting her out, it seems that they're well-suited to each other. Then he just loses interest.
Having said that, this was much better than I expected. The premise of criminal chasing criminal is slick; at the same time, Nick is a sort of 'gentleman' crook, as opposed to the obviously psychotic Terror. The Jane/Christopher/Nick triangle adds another comparison of opposites, as well as its level of drama. Lawford has a role that he's best at, Addams makes a trusting yet beguiling love interest, and the supporting cast is uniformly up to the task.
The foggy sets provide the authentic atmosphere--never mind that were probably dealing with a studio version of Victorian London. The screenplay, plot, and pacing fit together well (aside from my issue with the romance). A well-conceived and and entertaining murder mystery.
Sir Herbert (Michael Horndern) runs Scotland Yard. His daughter Jane (Dawn Addams) is betrothed to Sir Christopher (Derek Boyd). Nicholas (Lawford) gets in Jane's good graces by clearing her fiancee as a suspect. He then proposes that he has a plan to catch the Terror; is her father interested?
Indeed he is. Nick's plan "shows a knowledge of the criminal mind." Wonder why that is. Jane supports him, but the cops aren't biting just yer; Jane basically says she'll collaborate with him. After all, she's privy to a loftof police business. Almost seems that Nick is playing another angle with her; that is, he's probably as interested in her as he us in finding out who the murderer is.
Not being dumb by any means, the cops pretty much figure out his game. Anyway, Jane invites him to meet Sir Christopher. The detective, Conner (Roland Carver) gets the idea of shadowing Nick. Nick tells Christopher of his vague plans. Oh, man here's another constable bobbing through his beat in the middle of the night: The Terror gets him.
Conner comes calling on Nick for a little "chat." Suddenly, Conner announces that they're going to implement his plan after all. It sounds like a set-up. On the way to Scotland Yard, Nick fobs off the priceless purloined emerald in the care of his cabbie friend, Ernie (Leslie Dwyer). We find that there's always a cryptic clue before each murder (we're up to 13 of those now).
Jane's still hanging out with Nick. And he's back to being at least a person of interest to Conner. I can't figure out how Nick is found more often in Jane's company than her actual fiancee. He admits to her that he's "a fraud." He tells Christopher that he's backing off of her, at any rate. She's not happy with that; she thinks he's in love with her, or was. Another warning, that is, another cop might get murdered. The cabbie tells Nick that they're "done for" as the police have connected both of them to the jewel robbery.
Nick literally connects the dots, and comes up with a cunning plan. The murders' locations make the shape of a 'T' geographically ('T' for The Terror). If Nick can foil the upcoming murder attempt, the police will look the other way on his little heist. Nick, dressed up as a constable, positions himself in the likely area for the murder. How he's going to deal with The Terror is a different question. So, the police, believing that Nick is the Terror, seek him out.
He relieved the officer who's actually on that beat: basically putting a target on his back; also, the regular cop doesn't buy Nick's story, and reports it. The Terror attacks Nick art right, but a ride let's Nick avoid getting speared by a sword. Nonetheless, the guy manages to shoot Nick. In a protracted chase and fight, Nick finally overcomes the Terror, who falls to his death. Somehow the emerald is found on the murderer. Nonetheless, Max confessed to his part in the theft; so Nick is still down on that count. The end.
It's fairly clear that Nick will probably not lose too much sleep from the robbery indictment; but it looks like the game is up with Jane. I kind of wish there was another scene with him and Jane; their would-be romance is a major subplot, although he has tactical reasons for shutting her out, it seems that they're well-suited to each other. Then he just loses interest.
Having said that, this was much better than I expected. The premise of criminal chasing criminal is slick; at the same time, Nick is a sort of 'gentleman' crook, as opposed to the obviously psychotic Terror. The Jane/Christopher/Nick triangle adds another comparison of opposites, as well as its level of drama. Lawford has a role that he's best at, Addams makes a trusting yet beguiling love interest, and the supporting cast is uniformly up to the task.
The foggy sets provide the authentic atmosphere--never mind that were probably dealing with a studio version of Victorian London. The screenplay, plot, and pacing fit together well (aside from my issue with the romance). A well-conceived and and entertaining murder mystery.