This is a good example of a British B movie from the 1950's with good actors and a decent script by A R Rawlinson. It is particularly gratifying to find a British film that does not have an American actor in the lead which was a feature of British films at the time.Both the story and the acting are a little dated but if you look behind the actors at London and Cambridge in 1950 you realise how much Britain has changed. - No yellow lines and no parking metres. I too saw this film on BBC 2 as part of their season of British Films and was disappointed with the abrupt ending. It is clear that part of the last reel is missing. I saw this film at the cinema in 1951 and have a clear recollection that the Lawrence Harvey character jumps from the window of the whispering gallery onto the roof of the adjacent building as a means of escape described by the Sidney Tafler character earlier in the movie but slips and falls to his death. It is a pity the BBC could not find a complete print by a director, Lewis Gilbert,who went on to direct a number of important British films later in his career.
Review of Scarlet Thread
