Branded as criminally insane and incarcerated for a murder he did not commit, Speight escapes from the asylum, determined to clear his name. He befriends private detective Hugo Bishop who, convinced that the wrong man has been convicted, agrees to help find the real killer. They begin their search for the murderer closest to home where both Thelma Speight and her employer Maurice Jerrard were visibly distressed by the news of her husband's jailbreak. More than Speight's 'insanity' fuels their worries.
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MANTRAP is a dullish crime thriller from Hammer Films and one of the worst in the filmography of the great director Terence Fisher. It stars Kieron Moore as a guy who busts out of prison to find the real murderer behind the crime for which he was framed and sent to jail. All well and good, except the focus of the story is on his ex-wife whose contribution to the whole thing is rather negligible. This turns out to be a long-winded and stodgy affair, bogged down by stock dialogue and nary a moment's excitement. The cast members fail to breathe much life into the routine lines given them by Paul Tabori, and Lois Maxwell has none of the glamour and vitality as evinced in her Miss Moneypenny roles in later years. Only mild interest arises in spotting Barbara Shelley (in her debut appearance) and Bill Travers as a lovelorn figure.
I only rated this 1953 film 5/10 as average.It has rather poor continuity, editing and to be frank is rather dull for what purports to be a thriller.The highlight for me was to see an early Kay Kendall performance however I did not recognise "Miss Moneypenny" (Lois Maxwell from early James Bond films) who played the female lead.The other user review above succinctly outlines the basic plot, such as it was, so I won't repeat it.Casting Paul Henreid in the male lead role as an investigative lawyer was a mistake as the producer should have cast a British actor for more verisimilitude in the role.Normally I like what I call "Cholomdley-Warner" (apologies to Harry Enfield) films but this was not one of them.
Saw this film online and worth a look.Spoilers: A mystery made mysterious by the writers via misleading clues, lack of cohesion and glaring loopholes begins when Speight (Kieron Moore) escapes after being found guilty of murder, and his wife, Thelma (Lois Maxwell), believes he is after her because she is in love with another man and has changed her name. Lawyer Bishop and friend (Paul Henreid), playing a hunch, finds Speight at the scene of the crime and learns he is after the real murderer and not his wife. They shift through several men as suspects, all of whom seem to know his wife rather well. It is well done but no great shakes in the thriller department. The acting ranges from good to shaky and look for Kay Kendall in a small supporting role.