The Snorkel

Guy Green's 1958 British film follows a writer who kills his wife and makes it look like suicide. The viewer sees the murder in the opening scene; the tension comes not from who did it but from nobody believing his stepdaughter when she accuses him. The construction works by steadily weakening the girl's position: she is young, she accused the same man before, and the adults around her consider her hysterical. It is one of the Hammer studio's non-horror works and builds its tension entirely on place and waiting. The villa on the Italian coast is used well. The ending is harsh and unexpected. Who it's for: viewers who like classic British thrillers and location-driven construction. Who it's not for: anyone wanting a fast narrative, or troubled by the theme of a girl not being believed.