This is one of the least interesting mystery thrillers that I've seen from the era. There's some self-referencing stuff in that the film is set on and around a stage where the director and crew are busy shooting a gangster movie, but the central thrust of the story - that the director has an exact double who just so happens to be a visiting gangster from America - is so ludicrous that you can never take it seriously.
For a film with a simple 73 minute running time, this sure is dull, aside from that guns-blazing opening sequence which wrong foots the viewer. Talky, and dull, with characters who remain unappealing to the viewer from beginning to end, particularly that of the lead actress. Popular actor Henry Kendall (THE MAN OUTSIDE) plays the central dual roles here and despite some early and effective split screen effects, he doesn't really convince as either character.
As ever, it's left to some brief working class comic relief (in the form of the long-suffering sergeant) to lift the spirits. Even the crucial murder scene is oddly boring, and things only start to pick up at the very end as the net closes in. It feels like the makers of DEATH ON THE SET were hoping to rival the big American crime thrillers of the era, but their effort is a mere weak imitation.
For a film with a simple 73 minute running time, this sure is dull, aside from that guns-blazing opening sequence which wrong foots the viewer. Talky, and dull, with characters who remain unappealing to the viewer from beginning to end, particularly that of the lead actress. Popular actor Henry Kendall (THE MAN OUTSIDE) plays the central dual roles here and despite some early and effective split screen effects, he doesn't really convince as either character.
As ever, it's left to some brief working class comic relief (in the form of the long-suffering sergeant) to lift the spirits. Even the crucial murder scene is oddly boring, and things only start to pick up at the very end as the net closes in. It feels like the makers of DEATH ON THE SET were hoping to rival the big American crime thrillers of the era, but their effort is a mere weak imitation.