User Reviews

This quota quickie actually made me laugh a few times, thanks particularly to the charm of Anne Crawford -- in her first billed role, as a neglected wife trying to get her businessman husband to notice her -- and William Hartnell, the future Dr. Who, demonstrating his expertise at physical comedy. During a Latin American vacation, Crawford tries to make her husband think she's meeting a lover at a local jewelry store. When he follows her there, they get mixed up with a gentleman jewel thief and his assistant.

If you've only seen Hartnell in Dr. Who, which he made toward the end of his career, you'll be surprised by his physical grace. As the thief's assistant, he steals most of his scenes and does some great work in a chase sequence trying to keep some stolen diamonds from a police detective.

Crawford was only in her twenties and looks quite lovely. She has a good way with a comic reaction, but also keeps it all serious enough to make the rather thin material look better than it is.

This was one of Warner Bros.' low-budget British productions shot at Teddington Studio. It was made to satisfy government demands that a percentage of films shown in the country be made in Great Britain with British talent. The film looks much better than that might lead you to expect, re-creating a Latin town entirely on sound stages. It's a pleasant way to pass 90 minutes.

I rather enjoyed this movie. At first I balked at watching it because my screen guide described it as being "lackluster". Lackluster my nose! Nothing could be further from the truth. It's not lackluster at all. It's full of charm and wit and wacky moments. Some people complain that it's not very funny. Well, it's not supposed to be the Marx Brothers, folks. It's a caper movie with comedic elements mixed in along the way. And as such it's quite good.

I have to mention how beautifully lighted this movie is. It's delicious to look at. It was clearly lighted by an expert.

I'm not going to go over the plot, I detest doing that in my reviews. Impressions are what I like to give. And my overall impression of this movie was quite good. I might even add it into my collection. I might indeed.

This was a mildly enjoyable film, but despite Teddington Studio trying hard to make a nice little farce, the human often seemed a tad forced and not especially funny. Not a bad film, though not one that you'll long remember.

The film begins with a ridiculous plot device--a man and woman are on their honeymoon and the man is so busy with his business that he actually brings along his secretary and works the entire time! This is funny but also so ridiculous because it was completely impossible unless you just assume the man was gay. The understandably angry wife is beside herself and decides to try and make her indifferent husband jealous. However, despite having a good plan, her plan goes awry when a real stranger (in the form of a gentleman bandit) comes into her life for real. This bandit was by far the best aspect of the film--as he was quite charming and funny despite being a crook! After they meet during a robbery, the film slows down and becomes a tad tedious--especially during a dinner party when the stolen jewels keep getting lost and switched. This got old quickly and I found myself getting bored and wanting the film to wrap up quickly. Too bad the momentum was lost and it all ended up so mediocre--the film had some promise.

Enjoyed this British film which concerns a woman named Teri Mortimer, (Anne Crawford) who is married to a very rich man named Charles Mortimer, (Donald Stewart) and this couple are beginning to separate in their relationship and Teri Mortimer wants to see what she can do to wake her husband up and sort of get jealous of her. Teri's girlfriends do their best to help her out and devise all different kind of ways to get her husband to buy her a very expensive diamond called the Peterville Diamond. Charles Mortimer does start to become aware that is wife just might be having an affair with another man and so he does buy her this very expensive diamond in order to get his wife's attention and his married life can get back to normal. However, there are many problems which seem to arise and the diamond is stolen and there is a constant search for just where the diamond is and who has stolen this precious gem. Lots of British laughter and a very entertaining film. Enjoy.

TCM is currently showing a slew of "forgotten" Teddington Studios films (which repeat next Monday), and this one is a template for any intrigue comedy. Black and white never look better in such low-budget parameters.

Who will hook up with whom? Who will be arrested? What will become of the diamonds and other stones (they call them "rocks" for Americanism)?

One note: the absurdly large corsages worn by the women at the lapel is a trend I should like to see reappear.

Jewel thieves and a laconic damsel entwine. The film is never dull, and very fast paced. O, that films today would learn from such minor gems! I am enjoying this feature and look forward to other Teddington productions via Warner Bros.

This comedy is really not funny. It' a romance that plays so much on stereotypes it makes no impact. It's a caper film so derivative -- yes, even back then -- it has no snap.

The cast is adequate. More than that it's hard to say. However, what's nice is that the players are unfamiliar. At MGM, this would have starred Robert Montgomery. The wife of a businessman with no time for anything but work could have been any number of actresses.

We can be grateful that this little known film is peopled by performers mostly unknown today. And the production values aren't awful. Yet it makes no real impression.

It's a generic knockoff. And who wants that?

"The Peterville Diamond" from 1942 is a pretty good British film with people not terribly well known on this side of the pond but nevertheless quite good. I would have liked to have seen this with spiffier production values and stars a la MGM. It's the kind of story that needs some gloss.

The plot concerns a bored, wealthy woman who feels ignored by her husband. To spice things up, she has a woman friend call her, and in the presence of her butler, she arranges a tryst at a jewelry store. The butler dutifully tells the husband. While everyone is at the store, it's robbed by one of those gentleman robbers they used to have in the '30s, a Raffles type. He later shows up at a dinner party hosted by the woman and her husband, and now he's a baron. It takes off from there, with confusion over a case containing either jewels or papers which leads to car chases.

I'm sure it's not a long film but due to the thinness of the plot, it felt like it went on too long. Nevertheless, parts of it are fun.

Aside from Felix Aylmer's appearance as the President of his South American country, I hadn't really heard of many of the cast of jobbing British actors drafted in for this amiable crime caper. High-roller "Mortimer" (Donald Stewart) is determined to close a big deal but is neglecting his increasingly bored wife "Teri" (Anne Crawford). Intent on getting his attention, she goes to an high-end jewellers where she has discovered the eponymous diamond is being sold. Now one of her husband's underlings has alerted his boss to her visit and once they are both there, things start to hot up! A robbery is afoot, and with the help of some rather potent perfume she is relieved of her new jewel and the police are soon on the case. Later that evening they attend a state dinner with the aforementioned president and it's there that they realise that their charming and debonaire robber is also in attendance - in the guise of an influential businessman. Can they retrieve the stone - and the state jewels that have also been pilfered - before this character makes good their escape? At times this borders on the farce, but it is pretty well executed with good timing and just a little more sophistication to keep the pot boiling. Certainly, it's twenty minutes too long and the ending stretches out the theme a bit too far, but for the most part it's an enjoyable outing for Crawford and for Charles Helsop as long-suffering aide "Dilfallow" that moves along with a bit of style and a decent pace.

Kudos to writers Gordon Wellesley and Brock Williams for supplying director Walter Forde with an unusually good comic screenplay. Yes, that's right -- I liked it. It reminded me of the Mozartean comic operas that go round and round in circles like a dog chasing its tail. After awhile you simply can't keep up with the implications of each of the plot's many twists and turns. But that's the verdict of the lazy spoon-fed audiences of today. The sharper audiences of Mozart's time had no trouble keeping up. What a refreshing bit of fun it was! The suave robber (in this case played scintillatingly by Oliver Wakefield) may be the cliché of clichés, but it's always a good time. The married woman (Anne Crawford) who gets caught up in the intrigue and displays second thoughts about her husband (the character goes back at least as far as Mrs. Ford in Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor") is here bestowed a decently delicious amount of ambiguity. Only the husband (Donald Stewart) seems a bit wooden. And the second tier characters are also as masterfully drawn as many in Shakespeare.

There are more famous Hollywood comedies of this type that get far more attention and aren't half as good as this little gem. My humble suggestion: Sit back and enjoy it!

When teri doesn't get much attention from her hard working husband, she decides to get him to pay more attention. Somehow. But when they are caught up in a robbery at the jewelry store, things get complicated. And they keep bumping into the thieves. Mistaken identities. Of people. And briefcases. And the president is coming for dinner! The first half of this just drags, but about halfway through, things pick right up. The farce gets a little more exciting with the thief and the chief of police in the same house. Stick with it... it gets so much better! Directed by walter forde. Based on the play from 1932, which had already been filmed as "jewel robbery". Anne crawford (plays teri) died so young at 35. This was the final film for oliver wakefield (the baron); he died young at 47. Donald stewart (mortimer) died at 55. Kind of a cursed cast.

Teri Mortimer (Anne Crawford) is tired of being neglected by her rich businessman husband Charlie (Donald Stewart). She feigns interest in the expensive Peterville Diamond, but he just writes a big check to keep her quiet. A jewel thief duo comes into the store and robs the place. Of course, they steal the Peterville Diamond. The diamond passes from one hand to another. Teri enjoyed her time with the suave thief Baron Redburn (Oliver Wakefield) and the attention of Charlie's new jealousy.

This is set up for a fun love triangle. It's a fun meet-cute with Teri and the thief. The constant double-dealing tries to be screwball fun, but it just muddies the waters. I want more time for Teri to banter with Redburn. I don't know if they could ever stay together especially considering the times. Maybe if Charlie is only a boyfriend.