Nicks` Cabinet of Curios

Sandra Dorne and Maxwell Reed in `Marilyn` aka `Roadhouse Girl`  Marilyn  (1953). British B Movie. Directed and Written by Wolf Rilla, based on the play Marion by Peter Jones. Starring Sandra Dorne and Maxwell Reed.  Marilyn was released in the US under the title Roadhouse Girl The first part of this film was really not that engaging. Frivolous blonde Marilyn dreams of the high life but is stifled by her domineering garage-owner husband. She seeks comfort in the arms of his new employee, mechanic Tom Price (Maxwell Reed). Her husband catches the two together and threatens his wife. Reeds` character steps in to protect her and before we know it the husband is dead.  So far, nothing new.  Immediately after this things take an unexpected turn. With her husband lying dead upstairs and her lover standing watching, Marilyn flirts openly with a stranger who has called  to buy petrol. Once a  Coroner has accepted the death as the result o...

Not so long ago, we looked at the works of J S Fletcher and hopefully I convinced you that a writer not normally regarded as one of the greats was nevertheless capable of works that not only stand comparison with the works of others but also stand the test of time. Now, slightly reluctantly, I have to mention a writer often regarded as a master of his craft didn`t always get it right. Known in his lifetime as the `Prince of Storytellers`, E P Oppenheim is regarded by many, including myself, as a master of his craft. His short story collection The Human Chase in many ways anticipates more modern ideas about crime fiction, it contains a story which is a personal favourite of mine (The Great West Raid). Sadly, taken as a whole it fails to convince. The stories feature Oppenheims` sleuth Peter Benskin, a serving Police Officer.  Benskin is unlike other fictional sleuths of the time. He is small and slightly built, he is troubled by some aspects of his work and is qu...

Rogues` Yarn (1957) -  British B Movie - Directed by Vernon Sewell, Screenplay by Vernon Sewell and Ernie Bradford. Starring Nicole Maurey, Derek Bond, Elwyn Brook-Jones Very nearly didn`t stay with this due to a bout of wildly histrionic over-acting by Nicole Maurey in the early scenes. Fortunately this did not set the tone for the film as a whole. The film tells the story of a man`s murder of his wife at the behest of his lover. It takes the form of what used to be called an `inverted detective story` , a form invented by writer R A Freeman and popularised by the TV series Columbo, in which the audience learns early on who did it, how and why and the interest lies in the way in which the detective brings him to justice. While Nicole Maurey and Derek Bond received top billing as the murderous adulterers, undoubtedly it is Elwyn Brooks- Jones as their unflappable and incisive nemesis that is the real star turn.  In places it is like seeing a crime so...