Cast a Dark Shadow

A crime film set on the English coast. Edward is married to an older woman. Monica is much older, well off, and he lives on her money. There is a question of a will. Edward believes she has left him the house. One night he arranges an accident. The gas is left on and Monica dies. Then the solicitor comes. The will is not what he thought; the house has gone to someone else and Edward is left with very little. He looks for a second marriage. Freda is a widow, well off, and runs a bar. Edward finds her and they marry. But Freda is not naive. She understands business, keeps her money herself, and does not let him near the accounts. From there the film is a contest. The house, the bank, the solicitor, and a third woman who settles in the town. Charlotte does not say who she is. Edward sees her as another opportunity, and that is exactly where he is wrong. What the narrative is interested in is not murder but measure: Edward is not a gifted killer; he is impatient and vain, and all his mistakes come from that. The narrative shows the killer from the start. Who did it is no secret; the tension comes from whether he will be caught. Dirk Bogarde plays the part between charming and repellent. The most uncomfortable thing about the character is that his interest in women is genuinely convincing. The house is part of the film. Almost the whole narrative takes place in the same two-storey house, and the stairs and the fireplace are used again and again. Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh and Kathleen Harrison are in the cast. Lewis Gilbert directed. Who it is for: anyone who likes classical British crime films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for surprise; the narrative opens early and the final resolution comes a little easily.