Man Bait

The next time you are comfortably seated in a Barnes & Noble, or a Waterstone's - just (casually) glance about you for signs of criminal activity. Any dark stains on the carpet or on the upholstery...? It would appear, from this standard little blackmail thriller, that bookshops are not the sanctuary we might expect! Diana Dors is "Ruby", the pretty young thing employed by manager George Brent ("Harman") but she is always late. When, one evening, she accidentally catches her blouse on a drawer doing a bit of overtime (honest!), her rather devious boyfriend "Jeff" (a really un-menacing Peter Reynolds) suggests she pretend that it was much more than that and that this married man - about to cash in a £300-odd insurance policy to help his stricken wife - might be an easy mark for a couple of hundred quid. Next thing we know, she's gone missing and a box of books about to be moved from the shop has become considerably heavier! Whodunit, guv? We, the audience, actually know by now, but it's whether the police can find out before "Harman" is toast - that's the question... It's quite a fun little throwaway thriller, this. Raymond Huntley adds a little gravitas to the thing and the remainder of the cast keep the production tight and efficient. Not a great film, it's told in a slightly self-defeating fashion and is probably just fifteen minutes too long, but it is still worth a watch just about.