A Game of Murder (1966) User Reviews

They knew how to spin a yarn back then.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 11 June 2017]

A freak accident on a golf course causes the death of the once famous sportsman Bob Kerry. His son who happens to be a Chief Inspector takes the view that the accident was of course murder. He's fed countless lies, and led down many blind alleys. A web of suspense and intrigue is spun as Jack sets about finding the truth.

I will forever love the work of Frances Durbridge, and this is another fine example of the brilliance of his plots. So many clues, so many red herrings, lots of interesting characters, all of whom seem to have no possible reason for lying. It's all nicely tied up at the end. Plaudits to those involved for keeping the unmasking til the very end.

Fine performances, Gerald Harper, June Barry and David Burke, all the players are great.the swinging Sixties seem a magical time, a little snippet like this from that period does wonders for showing what life was like back then.

I love this kind of mystery and would dearly love to see these wonderful stories revisited, there is gold in the books of Durbridge.

Great fun but enormous plot hole - warning: spoilers in this review

[kmoh-1 · 3 June 2021]

As the other reviewer pointed out, a great story, nostalgia, red herrings and typical Durbridge.

I believe Durbridge made these things up as he went along, and unfortunately this one shows. There is a whole set of issues not resolved about why Bannister turned up in a wheelchair at his first meeting with Kerry, why he took the cheque and why it was found on Delaney. It incriminates Kerry of course, but there is no mention of why and how this was planned. The murder of Delaney was not planned at that stage, and no suggestion of any need to set Kerry up, so unless Bannister was clairvoyant how could he know this would be worth doing?

But more importantly, the plot turns crucially on the blackmail of Mel Harris by Mrs Lincoln. This would all make sense, were it not that Harris and Mrs Lincoln knew each other well. None of the plot works if they know each other. If they did not know each other, then an explanation is needed as to why each pretended to know the other, but it is not provided.

Of course, no-one really expects these things to make sense, so it doesn't detract from the scene-by-scene enjoyment. But still ...