Burnt Evidence

I know nothing about Director Daniel Birt, but he does an impressive job on the usual shoestring of Monarch Studio and with a very limited 59'.

He definitely makes the most of a compelling screenplay by Percy Hoskins, off Ted Willis' original.

The cast of unknowns does not compromise. I have never found Jane Hylton more than a mediocre actress, but the script also allows her an easy copout in that she does not convey any emotions that might explain why she loves Jimmy if she still also loves her hubby Jack. In the end, she just gets back on with the hubby, as if nothing but an innocuous little affair had happened - in most cases, that is fatal to a marriage, especially back in the 1950s. In fact, it was so frowned upon even in an open-minded society like the UK's, that Diana (Hylton) never admits to Inspector Edwards that she was having an affair with Jimmy.

Duncan Lamont, as Jack, comes across as the sympathetic killer, honest and considerate to a fault. His character development is logical: he does not demand payment for his jobs and he accepts the status of cuckolded hubby without too much fuss.

Meredith, as Inspector Edwards, gets his knuckles rapped for pursuing the wrong man, and he leaves at least one stone unturned in his investigation: why was Jimmy's face so damaged if he believes Jack's account that his former army pal's face was untouched when he left the homicide/fire scene?

In the end, the 59' go by quickly and I was engrossed throughout.

It is really more of a love story than your classical noir: Hylton as femme fatale does not quite make the grade, and neither hubby nor lover are morally blemished by her deception.

I liked the police and fire department cooperation, sounded like the real item!