Another chamber drama masterpiece by Basil Dearden in spectacular surroundings, in a castle in Britain, on the Mediterranean and at Mallorca, with three outstanding actors all three outwitting each other in turns, Ralph Richardson in a virtuoso performance as a dying old man in a wheelchair, Sean Connery as his dashing and cleverly intriguing nephew, and Gina Lollobrigida as the beauty in the game, employed as the old man's nurse but finding herself used for other means. Alexander Knox marches in later on as a police inspector, and the dogs play an important part as well. It's an amazing thriller beginning rather suavely as no one can suspect anything, but as the intrigue develops there is a decisive crisis half way into the film, from which moment on the plot never stops thickening. The music also plays an important and impressing part, mostly Beethoven (Fidelio above all) but also Berlioz, Rimsky-Korsakov (Capriccio Espagnol) and Mozart. It's a splendid film that should appeal to just anyone who can enjoy a good movie.
Review of Woman of Straw
