The Secret Partner

I first saw this film in 1961. Many years later, it turned up on Turner Classic Movies and, like a fool, I sat here watching it without making a tape of it. What a mistake that was. Although this film is well worth watching and has a clever twist ending, all indications are that it is unavailable anywhere on video or DVD. Don't miss it if it comes up on TV again.

This movie may not be up to the technical standards of today, but this is the kind of movie that gives you entertainment without trying to pander to some cause, or make me feel guilty about driving an SUV. There isn't any raw sex, exposed skin, car crashes, vulgar language or hidden messages. The only gun fire is target shooting, and nobody throws a punch as I recall. Yet, this is the sort of entertainment that my generation expected when we went to the movies. The plot is well conceived and keeps you guessing until the very end. The actors at the time this movie was made were very popular at the box office, and all gave an excellent performance. The female lead is an Israli actress who played opposite Charleton Heston in Ben Hur. Stewart Granger made movies for both American and English film companies, and could have made an excellent James Bond. The back drop of 1961 London has the feel of an American B & W detective movie of the "film noire" genre. Unlike some English movies made at the time, the dialog is not filled with English idioms. This is a little gem that you can watch with your relatives during the Hollidays.

"The Secret Partner," from 1961, is a nifty British film starring Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet, and Bernard Lee. Granger is a successful businessman, John Brent, who is being blackmailed by a dentist. The man knows that in the past, Brent went by another name and was caught embezzling. Because of all the money Brent spends on blackmail, his wife (Harareet) believes that there's another woman. When he has a party for business and tells people she's in Zurich, his wife returns and, in front of the guests, announces that she's leaving him.

When a safe at his business is robbed, suspicion falls on him because he is one of two people who have the combination. His office keys show filings from being copied. He denies ever giving anyone the combination or having the keys copied. The dentist, meanwhile, is having problems of his own - he's visited by a mysterious man who makes some demands of him.

Since it's to be the last case of a retiring detective superintendent (Lee), he's anxious to solve the robbery. It all seems a little too pat for him.

Nifty mystery with not only some twists, but an unexpected ending.

I really liked this film. Granger does a good job as the man with problems everywhere he looks. Harareet is beautiful, but doesn't have much of a role. Lee is likable as the retiring superintendent, reminding us that justice isn't always found in the courts.

Recommended.

The Secret Partner is one of the few films to show at length what it was like to go to the dentist and have treatment under gas, something that everyone in the 40s and 50s would have experienced but is now unknown to present generations. It is a very authentic reconstruction, although when Stewart Granger comes round before being given "the truth drug" it is very unlikely he would have had enough of his wits about him that quickly to follow his plan to fool the dentist. I certainly could not on the times I had gas. But for a low budget film it is an excellent story and has a good ending. I am not a great fan of Stewart granger but enjoy this film, pity it is not out on DVD

Stewart Granger plays John Brent, a man you feel really sorry for throughout much of the movie. It seems he's a successful businessman and yet his life is an apparent mess. His wife has left him and he's being blackmailed by a spineless drunk dentist. Could things get worse? Absolutely. But how and how he tries to extricate himself....you'll just have to see that when you watch this British thriller.

The film manages to work well for quite a few reasons. The acting is really very good, the writing clever and imaginative and the director managed to infuse the film with a nice brooding mood. Overall, a film that should be higher rated than it currently is...and well worth your time.