"She paid me me £500 to marry
her."
"Did you?"
"I don't know."
Over the past several years, Terence Fisher has crept into the ranks of my
favorite directors. Before he made his mark on Hammer’s Frankenstein
and Dracula series, he took on several low budget noir assignments for the
studio, then called Exclusive Films, directing the likes of Diana Dors, Paul
Heinreid and genre stalwart Lizabeth Scott. My favorite of these is Murder by Proxy from 1954. Released as Blackout in the
United States, it's the story of a man, who wakes up to find that he's wanted for murder. To complicate matters, he can't remember
what happened last night.
Amnesia is a common trope in noir and thrillers of the
1940s and 1950s and remains a part of such films to this day. Noir
and noir-adjacent movies, from Two O’Clock Courage (1945) and Deadline at Dawn
(1946) to Dark City (1998), use the condition as the impetus for a
protagonist's journey of discovery. Murder by Proxy uses an
alcohol-induced blackout in much the same way, as our hero Casey Morrow (Dane
Clark), wakes up in a strange apartment with a hell of a hangover. He may
also have gotten hitched to the very attractive blonde he met the night before,
but he can’t be sure.
Casey’s life is on the skids, but he’s a likable,
mundane sort of person. That would probably please Dane Clark, who
once remarked ''The only thing I want to do in films is to be Mr. Joe Average
as well as I know how.” Here, "Mr. Average" is a bit of a
lush and a bit of a bum and in more than a bit of trouble after falling in with
the aforementioned blonde. He's taken a job in London that has
fallen though, so when she approaches him in a nightclub, is willing to buy
their drinks, and has a lucrative proposition for him, he's on the hook. That proposition turns out to be a marriage proposal.
Movies of the 1940s and 1950s were preoccupied with
the way men and women relate to one another in the wake of the social upheaval
brought about by WWII. Male concerns coalesced in the figure
of the femme fatale who was often set in contrast to a more wholesome romantic
interest for the protagonist. In Murder By Proxy, this issue isn’t
treated in quite so simple a manner. As Casey begins to unravel the web he's stuck in, he encounters many women, but there
isn’t a cut and dry femme fatale in sight. Four of these are of primary importance in Casey's story.
The first woman Casey runs into is the blonde with
the job offer, played by Belinda Lee. She’s easy on the eyes, but her motives aren’t initially clear. On the night they meet, Casey observes that she "even smells like money." She's nowhere to be found the next morning when Casey wakes up, although a photo in the morning paper identifies her
as Phyllis Brunner, an heiress whose father was murdered the night before.
Casey discovers that he's a suspect in the investigation that ensues.
When Casey awakes, he
finds himself in the apartment of the second woman in this little web of
criminal incident, Maggie Doone (Eleanor Summerfield). Maggie is tough; a stiff upper lip
exemplar of British intelligence and tenacity. She gives Casey the kick
in the pants he needs to take charge of his situation. "Do some
detecting!" she exclaims at one point. That detecting points to some drama of a murderous variety in Phyllis' family.
Enter the (possible) mother-in-law, played with poise by Betty Anne Davies. Mrs. Brunner's motives, much like those of her
daughter, are very unclear at first. Her insight is sharp, cutting to the core of
Casey's character. At one point she's able to tell Casey a crucial fact that he's not able to see about himself.
The past is never far from the noir protagonist and the degree to which Casey can square with it will have a profound impact on his future. Eventually, the desperate situation forces Casey to seek out his mother. We discover he's
separated himself from her, burying his former life as far down as possible. This
portion of the film is brief, but meaningful, as Nora Gordon imbues the character with all motherly concern and devotion and really makes the most of her screen time.
Casey's navigation of these relationships with
friends, love interests, mothers and extended family can be seen as a kind of
maturation through socialization. By knowing these women, Casey knows
himself better. In that way, Murder by Proxy, in addition to being a
crime story, is a coming of age tale.
I won't spoil the fun by delving further into the
plot, which is typically knotty. Noir has a reputation for its bewilderingly complex storylines. Complications
are piled on, although plot is usually secondary to mood. Murder by Proxy almost comments on this when, in one
scene, a police inspector unravels the complexities for the benefit of another
character who reacts with annoyance and disinterest.
All-in-all, Murder by Proxy is a fairly modest film,
but it's definitely worth checking out and not only for the novelty of its British setting. Daniel Clarke's lead
performance is solid and the supporting cast is quite good as well. I would single out Andrew Gordon,
whose portrayal of a dangerous upper crust businessman, is appropriately menacing and villainous.
On a technical level, Terence Fisher's direction is skillful and is well-suited to a suspense story, maintaining dramatic tension throughout. Some of the shot composition is impressive as well, and I appreciate the care taken in constructing memorable images on a modest budget. In the final analysis, there's just a little more craft and creativity here than there needs to be and I think that if the movie had a recognizable star, it would be more well-known. A nice little gem, I have no reservations about recommending it, especially to fans of film noir.
Note: I wrote this review for the The Great Hammer-Amicus Blogathon. Many
thanks to Barry at Cinematic Catharsis and to Gill at Reelweegiemidget for putting this online event together. I plan to keep an eye on their
blogs for roundups of all the Hammer and Amicus goodness people are posting
this weekend and I'm definitely looking forward to reading and learning more
about the output of both studios!
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