The Secret Partner- Stewart Granger

directed by Basil Dearden
UK 1961

"The Secret Partner," from 1961, is a nifty British film starring Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet, and Bernard Lee. Granger is a successful businessman, John Brent, who is being blackmailed by a dentist. The man knows that in the past, Brent went by another name and was caught embezzling. Because of all the money Brent spends on blackmail, his wife (Harareet) believes that there's another woman. When he has a party for business and tells people she's in Zurich, his wife returns and, in front of the guests, announces that she's leaving him.

When a safe at his business is robbed, suspicion falls on him because he is one of two people who have the combination. His office keys show filings from being copied. He denies ever giving anyone the combination or having the keys copied. The dentist, meanwhile, is having problems of his own - he's visited by a mysterious man who makes some demands of him.

Since it's to be the last case of a retiring detective superintendent (Lee), he's anxious to solve the robbery. It all seems a little too pat for him.

Nifty mystery with not only some twists, but an unexpected ending.

Excerpt of review from blanche-2 for imdb.com located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 15 March 1961 (Seattle, Washington)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Warner Home Video (Warner Archive Collection) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Gregory Meshman for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:15
Video	1.75:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.22 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Dolby Digital 2.0 (English)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.75:1 Edition Details: � None DVD Release Date: May 19th, 2015 Keep case Chapters 12

Comments

The Secret Partner, a British thriller directed by Basil Dearden, would fit thematically and chronologically in Eclipse's Basil Dearden's London Underground if it wasn't released by a major studio (MGM). The film, featuring fine performances by Stewart Granger (Moonfleet, Footsteps in the Fog), Haya Harareet (Ben-Hur) and Bernard Lee (The Battle of the River Plate, Dr No), manages to surprise the viewer in the final reveal and warrants another stab at it with all the puzzle pieces now in place. The atmospheric black-and-white cinematography by Harry Waxman (The Wicker Man) and memorable jazzy music score by the frequent Dearden collaborator Philip Green (all films in Basil Dearden's London Underground set, The Girl Hunters) add tremendously to the proceedings.

The made-on-demand progressive single-layered disc from Warner Archive is a welcome debut of the film on home video. The film is presented in 1.75:1 aspect ration - somewhere between the European theatrical standard of 1.66:1 and now common 1.85:1. The image, with good amount of headroom on the top, never looks compromised. The anamorhpically enhanced transfer looks very good, with some minimal damage - there are still fleeting marks and specs on the print. The mono audio is fine, with no damage and, per usual standard, there are no subtitles or captions on the disc. There are no extras, but the film is a great mystery thriller and would fit perfectly on collector's shelf next to Eclipse's earlier set.

- Gregory Meshman

DVD Menu

Screen Captures

scratches on the frame

DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

Distribution

Warner Home Video

Region 0 - NTSC

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Hit Counter

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!