The Teckman Mystery

source: The Teckman Mystery

Several of the reviews disparage the film as difficult to follow. I have the same complaint about plotting more often than I'd like to admit, but this intriguing mystery wasn't that thorny as long as you concentrated. Maybe the reviewers were too idle to use their brains. Either way, it was gripping from start to finish.

In response to the review that felt this movie was slow: well, it didn't open with machine guns blazing, if that's what you mean. For an older British espionage movie, this film actually moves along quite briskly. If you like British movies, you are sure to like this. Even if you don't normally watch British film, you may well like this. If you watched and enjoyed the original Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, you will certainly enjoy this, as the action is sizzling in comparison.

Not much of a mystery or a movie, either. Indeed, if it weren't for the fact that it was directed by a woman at a time when gals not named Ida Lupino weren't doing that kind of thing it'd hardly be worth mentioning. Solid C. PS...John Justin and Margaret Leighton have less sexual chem than Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower.

THE TECKMAN MYSTERY is very much a B-movie mystery of the era, written by Francis Durbridge who was no stranger to the genre. It involves a writer investigating the mysterious death of a pilot who (spoiler alert) eventually turns out to still be alive, and his investigation leads to the man's sister as played by Margaret Leighton. It's a slightly sluggish affair, not helped by an over-complicated storyline that ends up more annoying than involving. There are some familiar faces in the cast including the usual reliables like Michael Medwin, Raymond Huntley and Sam Kydd and they're always welcome, but overall this is rather tiresome.

John Justin is best (only) known from The Thief Of Baghdad, and even then he played second fiddle to Sabu! I've always liked him and will make a point of seeking out his films. Talking Pictures Channel is very helpful in this regard with its content. At first this movie sounded rather dull, but once I got into it, I found it very enjoyable, if convoluted. Justin plays writer Philip Chance who is asked to write a biography of recently deceased test pilot Martin Teckman. Strangely, he finds himself seated next to Teckman's sister Helen on a plane. He tells her he is reluctant to accept the commission since he is a novelist, not used to writing about real people. She mentions that she understood a female writer was already working on the book. Later, Chance hears that the other writer was injured in a car crash. Hence the offer to himself. He is still reluctant but agrees to make a few preliminary notes. He interviews Gavin, one of Teckman's former colleagues who claims outlandishly that Martin is still alive, and that he has flown the prototype F109 aircraft to another country. The recovered debris from the apparent crash was planted. Pondering this, Chance returns home to discover his flat has been ransacked, but nothing taken. Then he receives an offer of a writing job from the enigmatic Mr Rice. The pay is unbelievably generous, but the stipulation is that he must take up the post in Berlin, tomorrow. Feeling happy Chance returns home again only to find the dead body of Gavin in the lounge! From then on it all turns a bit Cold War and we experience every convention and cliche of the spy/crime genre. Fake telephone appointments abound. Apartment doors are mysteriously always ajar and the red herrings stack up. Characters are seen only from the back, or their presence is indicated by the reaction of another. Set in the fifties, all of the cars seem to be Humbers or Wolesleys, but there isn't much traffic around. In fact, one scene on Tower Bridge would be impossible today. Several cars park easily on the bridge and Helen walks slowly across the empty carriageway to keep an assignation! There is a twist at the end. But if you have been paying attention to details, you might have worked it out 10 minutes beforehand.

A writer (John Justin) finds himself stumbling into a mystery involving a murdered test pilot and a mysterious woman (Margaret Leighton). Based off a novel and adapted by Frances Durbridge, this is a pretty standard crime film among the hundreds that were churned out in the 1950s, but good fun.

Nice post-war British espionage mystery. Clever and wonderfully acted. Margaret Leighton super (of course), but whole cast top notch.

A film about a missing test pilot and Cold War espionage seem a promising foundation for 90 minutes of drama and entertainment. However, despite the first hour of the film offering an exciting, if convoluted narrative, the last 30 minutes drags, meanders and eventually loses its way, mainly due to the fact that the storyline seems to present a very far fetched and tedious series of events. Likeable John Justin, puts in a sound and smooth performance as the writer, who gets caught up in a web of intrigue. The splendid Raymond Huntley, as the publisher, and Roland Culver, as the MI5 officer, offer sterling support, but their lack of screen time give them little time to display their considerable acting skills. On the other hand, Margaret Leighton is woefully miscast as the fraught sister of the missing pilot. She is too cold, detached and always dressed as if she was going to a cocktail party! When she's on the screen, she displays no nuances of emotion, and whatever the scene, her voice and manner remain the same! The ending of the film is sloppily done, disappointing and unconvincing! This is very much a film which shows great promise at the start, but then fizzles out too soon.

John Justin is a writer flying home to London to argue that he shouldn't write the biography of a test pilot whose plane crashed. As he sits on the plane, Margaret Leighton is seated next to him, reading a magazine with a story by him. They get to chatting and he discovers she is the sister of the pilot. He decides to write the book, but as he does his research, the people he wishes to speak to keep dying. It's a nice little mystery, with director Wendy Toye adhering to many of the conventions of the British film genre, including the police actually knowing how to do their job. It's not a terribly deep mystery, but it does turn into an interesting movie in terms of suspense: The audience and Justin have all the clues they need, and Justin's inability to see the solution puts him at risk. It makes you want to shout at him.