Evelyn Ankers

Richard Fraser

George Leigh

Barbara Everest

Barry Bernard

Frederick Worlock

Virginia Farmer

Colin Campbell

Crauford Kent

Peggy Jackson

Elaine Lange

Harry Cording

Boyd Irwin

Norman Ainsley

Frank Baker

Ted Billings

Bruce Carruthers

Cyril Delevanti

Herbert Evans

Bobby Hale

Sam Harris

Keith Hitchcock

James Logan

Casey MacGregor

Charles McNaughton

John Meredith

Eva Novak

Gil Perkins

Hilda Plowright

Arlyn Roberts

Dorothy Stevens

Lucy Storm

Lillian Talbot

Eric Wilton

Florence Wix

Jack Perrin

Lesley Selander

Jerry Sackheim

Cleve F. Adams

Rupert Croft-Cooke

Rudolph E. Abel

Armand Schaefer

Bud Thackery

Ralph Dixon

Gano Chittenden

Russell Kimball

George Milo

Joe Dill

Bob Mark

Howard Lydecker

Theodore Lydecker

Victor B. Appel

Adele Palmer

Alberto Colombo

Joseph Dubin

Charles Maxwell

Walter Scharf

Richard Cherwin

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

The Fatal Witness

Republic Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

To be fair to director Lesley Selander, he packs quite a bit into this whodunit. We know that "Lady Elizabeth" (Barbara Everest) has lost her precious emerald brooch, and that she suspects her ne'er-do-well nephew "John" (George Leigh) of pinching it. He denies the accusation when he finds her searching his room with "Priscilla" (Evelyn Ankers) and storms out of the house. Next morning, the old bat is found dead and, naturally, "John" is prime suspect. Thing is though - he has an alibi, and it's the police who are providing it! He spent that very night face down in a cell recovering from too much Scotch. So, who did pinch the jewel and who murdered the old lady? That detection falls to Scotland Yard's finest "Trent" (Richard Fraser) who has to get to the bottom of things. It's not that simple to guess who did what to whom, but boy is there a lot of dialogue as the film progresses, taking us through quite a few unsavoury and devious characters - any one of whom might have done her in. The production is cheap and cheerful and the acting pretty static, but the story moves along well enough for an hour and though it's entirely forgettable, it's still not a bad watch.

English