The Riverside Murder

This is a great rainy day/night murder mystery in a mansion that all whodunit lovers will appreciate. A woman reporter helps an inspector solve the deaths of four financiers on the eve of a group shareout. Based on "Les Six Hommes Morts" (Editions du Masque) by Stanislas-André Steeman.

Basil Sydney and Alastair Sim are two detectives drafted in to investigate the shooting of a gent in his riverside home. It transpires that the murdered man was wealthy, and had entered into a pact with some colleagues whom he had previously badly advised in a business deal, leaving them broke. The terms of this bond were that in five years time, they were all to share equally in any proceeds he had managed to accrue in the intervening years. Our two intrepid coppers - along with a (really annoying) young journalist "Claire" (Judy Gunn) have to try and discover the culprit before midnight strikes and the pact tales effect... The production is basic and the script - aside from some chirpy one-liners from Sim - is, too, but the last ten minutes or so really do generate quite an effective little dose of suspense and the two lead performances are quite effective, if a little theatrical at times. I enjoyed it.