Locker Sixty Nine ***½ (1962, Eddie Byrne, Paul Daneman, John Carson, Walter Brown, Penelope Horner, Edward Underdown, Clarissa Stolz, John Glyn-Jones, Edwin Richfield, Alfred Burke) – Classic Movie Review 13,332

The 1962 British Edgar Wallace Mysteries crime thriller film Locker Sixty Nine stars Eddie Byrne as a newspaper reporter who investigates the faked murder of a shady businessman (Edward Underdown).

Director Norman Harrison’s 1962 British mystery thriller film Locker Sixty Nine [Locker 69] is an episode of the Edgar Wallace Mysteries crime film series that stars Eddie Byrne as a newspaper reporter who investigates the faked murder of a shady businessman (Edward Underdown) who has perpetrated a nasty fraud that killed a large number of people in South America. It is written by Richard Harris based on a story by Edgar Wallace.

Edward Underdown stars as Bennett Sanders, a shady business man who has perpetrated a nasty fraud that has resulted in the death of a large number of people in South America. His business partner Frank Griffiths (Paul Daneman) has kept evidence of the fraud in locker sixty nine in a security vault. He has threatened the fraudster with exposure if there is any further dishonest dealing. Fraudster Sanders receives death threats and decides to fake his own murder to get his hands on the evidence in locker sixty nine and to trick whoever is threatening him.

His ‘murder’ is investigated by Craig (Walter Brown), the private detective he has hired to protect him; Simon York (Eddie Byrne), a journalist from the Daily Sketch who has been tipped off by a mystery woman; and police Inspector Roon (John Glyn-Jones). The private detective has found the body, and been knocked out at the scene of the crime, and is accused of murdering his employer.

Of course there’s also a glamorous femme fatale, the club singer showgirl Julie Denver (Penelope Horner), and a couple of suspicious foreign types, Miguel Terila (John Carson) and his sister Eva (Clarissa Stolz). And, talking suspicious, there’s also the dodgy geezer Peters (Edwin Richfield), who’s clearly up to no good.

And, of course, somebody is actually out to kill Sanders. Griffiths has said he’d liked to kill him and Miguel Terila has said he has set out to kill him.

Locker Sixty Nine [Locker 69] is a splendidly complex, gripping, enjoyable puzzle thriller episode, with excellent performances from a top-rate cast, who don’t put a foot wrong. Eddie Byrne is suitably brash and boorish as the newspaper reporter, Edward Underdown is polished as the charmless self-appointed ‘victim’, and John Glyn-Jones is amusing as the baffled and dithering police inspector.

There’s a good pace, a tense atmosphere, and above all a tremendous plot, intricate and cleverly concocted. As the plot thickens, it is so satisfyingly complicated, and then it unravels unexpectedly smoothly. Richard Harris’s screenplay is a model of brevity and wit. It’s a murder mystery without a murder! How cute is that!

John Carson receives an ‘and introducing’ credit.

Penelope Horner (born 20 June 1939) played the Anne Rider in the 1961 British-West German black-and-white Edgar Wallace crime film The Devil’s Daffodil (not part of the series).

Locker Sixty Nine was released in September 1962.

The cast

The cast are Eddie Byrne as Simon York, Paul Daneman as Frank Griffiths, Walter Brown as Craig, Penelope Horner as Julie Denver, Edward Underdown as Bennett Sanders, Clarissa Stolz as Eva Terila, John Carson as Miguel Terila, John Glyn-Jones as Inspector Roon, Edwin Richfield as Peters, Alfred Burke as Davison, Philip Latham as Dr Trent, Leonard Sachs as Spencer, Larry Burns as doorkeeper, Kenneth Thornett as constable,  Norma Parnell as Maggie, and Valerie Van Ost as showgirl.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,332

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries 

There were 48 films in the British second-feature film series The Edgar Wallace Mysteries, produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated and released in cinemas between 1960 and 1965.

Crossroads to Crime (1960) and Seven Keys (1961) were not shot as part of the series but were later included. Urge to Kill (1960) may not originally have been intended as part of the series.

1. Urge to Kill (March 1960)
2. Clue of the Twisted Candle (September 1960)
3. The Malpas Mystery (October 1960)
4. Marriage of Convenience (November 1960)
5. The Man Who Was Nobody (December 1960)
6. Partners in Crime (February 1961)
7. The Clue of the New Pin (February 1961)
8. The Fourth Square (June 1961)
9. Man at the Carlton Tower (July 1961)
10. Clue of the Silver Key (August 1961)
11. Attempt to Kill (September 1961)
12. Man Detained (October 1961)
13. Never Back Losers (December 1961)
14. The Sinister Man (December 1961)
15. Backfire! (February 1962)
16. Candidate for Murder (February 1962)
17. Flat Two (February 1962)
18. The Share Out (February 1962)
19. Number Six (April 1962)
20. Time to Remember (July 1962)
21. Solo for Sparrow (September 1962)
22. Playback (September 1962)
23. Locker Sixty Nine (September 1962)
24. Death Trap (October 1962)
25. The Set Up (January 1963)
26. Incident at Midnight (January 1963)
27. The £20,000 Kiss (January 1963)
28. On the Run (February 1963)
29. Return to Sender (March 1963)
30. Ricochet (March 1963)
31. The Double (April 1963)
32. To Have and to Hold (July 1963)
33. The Partner (September 1963)
34. Accidental Death (November 1963)
35. Five to One (December 1963)
36. Downfall (January 1964)
37. The Verdict (February 1964)
38. We Shall See (April 1964)
39. The Rivals (May 1964)
40. Who Was Maddox? (June 1964)
41. Face of a Stranger (September 1964)
42. Act of Murder (September 1964)
43. Never Mention Murder (November 1964)
44. The Main Chance (November 1964)
45. Game for Three Losers (April 1965)
46. Change Partners (July 1965)
47. Strangler’s Web (August 1965)
48. Dead Man’s Chest (October 1965)