Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Scott LeBrun Poor Candy Brown (Mandy Miller). She cannot get anybody to believe her. She's 100% certain that her cold blooded stepfather Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) has murdered her mother, despite the evidence seeming to indicate that the woman committed suicide. Mandy, who also believes in her heart that Paul had similarly murdered her father once upon a time, sticks to her guns. But the adults around her keep stubbornly insisting that she *must* be making all of this up.It's easy to be on Candy's side here. With so many thick headed adult characters, you truly feel her frustration and desperation. Will she ever obtain the proof she needs that Paul is a creep? People like her chaperone Jean Edwards (Betta St. John, "The City of the Dead"), Mr. Wilson (William Franklyn), or the hearty police inspector (Gregoire Aslan) refuse to take her seriously, even though she doesn't seem to be the sort of girl who'd be prone to flights of fancy.The suspense lies not in a "did he or didn't he" scenario - we see Paul murder Candy's mother in the quiet, ingenious opening set piece. The title object plays a pivotal role. Rather, the tension arises in Candy's predicament, and whether or not she'll be vindicated before the evil Paul strikes again. And we know it's possible. The looks he keeps giving her show that he thinks that he'll have to kill her just to shut her up.Efficient direction by Oscar winning cinematographer Guy Green ("Great Expectations", 1946) and sharp black & white photography make this a fine entertainment, as well as strong performances from all concerned. Miller makes Candy a sympathetic character, and with his facial features van Eyck was obviously a natural for screen villainy.This viewer would suggest that fans of Hammer horror give features like this a try, just to show that the famed British studio wasn't just a one trick pony.Seven out of 10.

bkoganbing This Hammer film opens with a murder. We see Peter Van Eyck in a carefully planned murder asphyxiate his wife with poison gas which he avoids. He's constructed a trap door beneath the floor of the room where he can breath through a snorkel. The police who if they searched the room a bit more thoroughly should have found his trap door hideaway. But the film is set in Spain where well to do British have summer homes. And the Spanish police as personified by Gregoire Aslan are lazy. Wouldn't catch Scotland Yard avoiding the obvious.When his wife's daughter is brought in by her friend Betta St.John, Mandy Moore immediately accuses her stepfather Van Eyck of murder. Not only that of the murder of her real father. She's in obvious fear and we know she ought to be. But try and convince someone else most of all the cops.Van Eyck tries many times to murder her, but no one sees him doing it. In the end he's caught in the device of his own making. Clever I thought.But in what was obviously a tacked on ending Moore tells Aslan where to find Van Eyck. It truly ruined what was a clever idea for a justly earned revenge.

cabarbaro Hammer films are known for its horror movies, but there was a time when they made some fine thrillers like this, a delicious movie with the structure of a Columbo episode, only ten years in advance. With five minutes we know who is the murder and how he did it. From there on, we will suffer with a brave girl who, like the lieutenant, years later, knows from heart who the murder is, but, since the method he used is a clever one, eluding all around him, needs to solve the puzzle before the murder turns to her. No goofy moments here, the movie is truly watchable after all these years. It was not easy to find some years ago, but today you can find where to see it online with a quick research on the web.

MartinHafer A woman is murdered by her husband in an ingenious manner. He kills her with gas and hides in the room under the floor. Why does he remain inside the room and hidden? Because, since the door was locked from the inside, everyone assumed it was a suicide...at least everyone but the victim's young daughter. What makes it interesting is not really the murder but what happens after...when this teen begins making accusations that appear unfounded. Apparently, the killer is sick of it...or perhaps he always planned on also killing the kid--either way, by the end of the film he's ready to murder her as well. This leads to a particularly inspired ending. While I might have made it even a bit darker, I did like how the writer made it a little vague as to what happened next. I am sorry I sound a bit cryptic--I just don't want to divulge exactly what happens next.According to IMDb, the way the murderer commits his crime and gets away with it is impossible--and I certainly assume IMDb is correct about this. So, while it's not possible for a person to use a scuba-like device to kill someone and avoid asphyxiation (at least the way they show it here), it does keep your interest. Plus Van Eyck was a great villain and the film sure ended on a high note--making the film well worth seeing.