The Double * (1963, Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughtan, Robert Brown, Jane Griffiths, Basil Henson) – Classic Movie Review 13,343

The 1963 second feature British thriller film The Double is based on a story by Edgar Wallace, and stars Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughtan, Robert Brown, Jane Griffiths and Basil Henson.

Director Lionel Harris’s misfiring 1963 second feature British thriller film The Double stars Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughtan, Robert Brown, Jane Griffiths and Basil Henson. It is part of the 48 film series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios, South London, and based on a story by Edgar Wallace.

The Double is a surprise, but a bad one, as a tired, slack and disappointing episode, with a dull, preposterous plot and some flat or hammy performances. It is one of the few low-interest films in the entire series. However, Basil Henson does all he can to enliven the film as the villain. Actually, he’s a good smooth, suave self-confident older villain. You don’t want to see any harm come to him because he’s the life and soul of the film. There’s a whole bunch of good guys, and they are totally dispensable. That’s all a bit of a problem then.

This is one time when the short running time (just 56 minutes) is actually too long, and they are padding to fill it. It’s a short story then, and half an hour screen time would have done, producing a cleaner, crisper little film.

The screenplay by Lindsay Galloway, based on a story by Edgar Wallace, is very messy and unfocused, all over the place really, managing hardly any suspense or interest, and not explaining itself clearly or successfully. The plot is unusually thin and unsatisfying for an Edgar Wallace. Quite often the actors can come to the rescue when scripts are weak, but Jeannette Sterke, Alan MacNaughtan, Robert Brown and Jane Griffiths can’t pick up any real pace, enthusiasm or excitement, so their characters fail to fascinate.

Unusually there is no actual investigation going on that we need to be involved in. Police presence is low and insignificant, with Hamilton Dyce as Detective Inspector Ames arriving only very belatedly.

Director Lionel Harris doesn’t seem to know what to do to liven it up, though there are some nice shots of Brighton and the Downs.

[Spoiler alert] Alan MacNaughtan stars as wheeler-chair-bound amnesiac John Cleeve, who obsessively remembers one thing: he believes he has killed his business partner, a man named Derreck Alwyn. Bit by bit, though, the amnesiac starts to remember, and, even more improbably, suddenly leaps out of his chair and walks, well runs actually, to save a child!

Jeannette Sterke stars as Mary Winston, who wants to help him and look after him, and investigates. Robert Brown plays her shifty solicitor Richard Harrison, who finds a photograph of the still-living Derreck Alwyn (Basil Henson), whom Cleeve recognises as the man he believed he had killed. Eventually Mary realises her inquiries are being hindered by the dodgy Harrison, who is in the generous pay of the awful Alwyn. Jane Griffiths plays Mary’s sister Jane, who realises that Alwyn is an impostor, who had previously tried to kill Cleeve (the real Alwyn).

The cast

The cast are Jeannette Sterke as Mary Winston, Alan MacNaughtan as John Cleeve, Robert Brown as Richard Harrison, Jane Griffiths as Jane Winston, Basil Henson as Derreck Alwyn, Anne Lawson as Sally Carter, Diane Clare as Selena Osmonde, Llewellyn Rees as Bradshaw, John Miller as Sir Harry Osmonde, Dorothea Rundle as Martha Bradshaw, Hamilton Dyce as Detective Inspector Ames, Henry McCarthy as Dr Leighton, Tony Wall as Logan, Patrick Parnell as Cooper, Arlette Dobson as Karen, David Charlesworth as Charles, Brian Mcgrellis as delivery boy, Ron Eagleton as porter, Derek Sumner as policeman, and Thelma Holt as Marie.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,343

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