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Such a frustrating disappointment

Overrated

Must See Movie...

This movie is obviously a competent adaptation of a book. It is pretty good, if you like grade B noir, and we do, but the most fun is seeing familiar faces playing against type and/or putting on Italian accents.The villain in particular was a shocker, as I'd only seen him in light comedies. The most fun was looking up the bios of the actors on IMDb. It is one of those ones where a lot of the actors played roles in WWII themselves, some of them more dramatic than the parts they play here.IMDb requires 10 (!) lines of text, so I will say the pigeons of Venice are amazing, some of the best lines are idiotic in context, and why have a chase scene in a glass factory if you aren't going to break any glass? I guess they didn't have the budget as they filmed in a real glass factory. And, IMDb, "bios" is not a misspelling of BIOS, it is a common term for biography.

Just 7 years following WWII, Italy was just regaining it's favored nation status with Europe. And to reward a countryman for Anti-Nazi actions, a detective is sent to track one man down for proved to be a hero assisting the Allies against the Nazis only to discover he is recorded in public records as dying as a hero. As the story plays out, political intrigue enters the picture as attempts are to be put into place that will ruin the up-coming elections. The police are suspicious to a degree of the detective and keep him under watch. The plot to 'assassinate' the political front runner is directed toward the detective by the true perpetrators for cover. There is much of a Hitchcock-type landscape throughout the movie with twists and turns and intrigue that ends with moment to moment wonder... Will the truth unfold? Will the true assassin be exposed? Will the police get the right person?

As another reviewer says this is something of an underrated film. More so since it was made in 1952. At that time exchange controls would have limited the amount of filming that could be done overseas and so much of it was studio filmed in England. The story is intricate and the full meaning is not revealed until the final 20 minutes. If Venice seems harsh and cold its very much in the recovery from war mode yet the back drop is excellently atmospheric. The absence of tourists is refreshing. The films high contrast back and white rendition is also noteworthy.Good cast....Not hard to see why some say Bond meets 3rd man! Even some classy looking femmes fa tales!

Set in the short years after WW2 there is mystery and political intrigue as a private detective tries to discover the whereabouts of an Italian and reward him for his part in the rescue of an allied airman during the war.This is an excellent early 50s murder mystery thriller set in Venice with some great set pieces and beautiful and at times striking on location photography...much better than the overrated Venice filmed in "Don't Look Back".Great mood - a marrying of post war paranoia ( Venice is close to the then disputed city of Trieste - between the West and communist Yugoslavia) and political intrigue which reflected the chaotic state of Italian politics at the time.Ralph Thomas ( brother of Gerald of Carry On fame and who edited this film) made his fame with the "Doctor" comedy films starring Dirk Bogarde and Iron Petticoat with Bob Hope and Katharine Hepburn but he also made quite a few well above average middle budget suspense / drama films - Campbell's Kingdom (1957), Checkpoint (1956), Above Us the Waves (1955), Appointment with Venus (1951), The Clouded Yellow (1951), of which this is one of the best. The climactic chase is excellent.Good performance from the ever reliable Richard Todd and a nifty small role for Sid James.Excellent music by Nino Rota ( Godfather, La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2) also.A underrated gem.