You Can't Escape

You can’t escape rare B-features from The British Film Collection, and this one is no exception. Robert Urquhart (The Curse Of Frankenstein) plays not altogether successful novelist Peter Darwin, who saves a reach aristo-cat from a burning plane and in no time they are engaged to be married – but there is a slight problem!

One would think that being engaged to an attractive heiress, in this case one Kay March (Noelle Middleton), is a rather joyful event in the life of Peter Darwin… and it would be, were it not for the fact that his former mistress Claire is expecting a baby. During a ride in the car, an argument ensues, the door is accidentally opened and she falls out and gets killed. Oh no! Peter, for some strange reason, decides to leave the body in the car (as you do) where Kay finds it the next day. This lady of wealth is a little on the naïve side to put it mildly, and besotted with our novelist agrees to help him bury the body on her private property grounds. A little later, Peter returns to his ex-mistress’ flat to retrieve some items of clothing packed in a suitcase. Unfortunately, this is witnessed by seedy journalist Rodney Nixon (Peter Reynolds) who later attempts a little bit of blackmail. As it so happens, the deceased Claire (Elizabeth Kentish) had a friend – the estimable David Anstruther (Guy Rolfe) who through a series of unfortunate coincidences finds himself in the frame for a murder he didn’t commit. As things get messier by the minute, Kay eventually realises what a swine her fiancé really is and transfers her affections to Anstruther. An archeological dig is to take place on her land and Claire’s body is discovered, leaving Darwin to resort to desperate measures to save his head from the noose…

All in all, this is not a bad little effort for a B-feature. The performances are reasonable throughout, especially the little known Peter Reynolds gives an engaging performance as the seedy blackmailing journo.
Plaudits have to go to the cinematography, for which the renowned Norman Warwick was responsible – including a panoramic view of Waterloo Bridge (without the sunset…).

Special Features on this DVD release include:

• Full-frame version
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Instant play facility