The Squeaker *** (1937, Edmund Lowe, Sebastian Shaw, Ann Todd, Tamara Desni, Robert Newton, Allan Jeayes, Alastair Sim) – Classic Movie Review 11,428

The US theatrical poster of The Squeaker.

The venerable vintage 1937 British mystery crime thriller film The Squeaker is based on Edgar Wallace’s famous novel and play.

Director William K Howard’s venerable vintage 1937 British mystery crime thriller film The Squeaker [Murder on Diamond Row] is based on the famous 1927 novel and 1928 play The Squeaker by Edgar Wallace.

It stars Edmund Lowe as drunken disgraced former police detective Inspector Barrabal, who gets a second chance when Scotland Yard re-hires him and he masquerades as an ex-convict to try to uncover and capture a master criminal, ‘The Squeaker’, a diamond fence who shops any London thieves to the police who won’t agree a low price to split their jewellery robbery loot with him. Basically, The Squeaker is covering his tracks by sending letters to Scotland Yard naming and framing his criminal associates who have committed the robberies he profits from. The alcoholic Barrabal, first encountered dragged in to a police lineup, has to agree to stop drinking, an idea that is hammered to death throughout the movie.

Unshaven, dishevelled and grubby, and pretending to be an ex-con, Barrabal gets a job at a shipping company with the help of the owner’s daughter, the lovely and sympathetic Carol Stedman (Ann Todd), who soon falls in love with him. She persuades her actual beau, the company manager Frank Sutton (Sebastian Shaw), to take him on, as Frank is known to sympathise with men down on their luck. Murder follows and Barrabal has to work fast to catch The Squeaker.

Other key characters are the cat burglar jewel thief Larry Graeme (Robert Newton), his girlfriend, the sexy singer/ dancer Tamara (Tamara Desni), and the sardonic Scottish newspaper reporter Joshua Collie (Alistair Sim), who is hot on the case.

Allan Jeayes as Inspector Elford and Stewart Rome as Police Superintendent Marshall also feature in this highly entertaining third film version of the Edgar Wallace whodunit, following the 1930 British film The Squeaker starring Percy Marmont, Anne Grey and Gordon Harker, and the 1931 German film The Squeaker starring Lissy Arna, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Fritz Rasp.

The Squeaker provides a satisfying mystery, as well as plenty of antediluvian lip-smacking in the acting and handling, backed up by the very handsome production by producer Alexander Korda and designer Vincent Korda, with attractive black and white cinematography by Georges Périnal and nice score by Miklós Rózsa. It does look notably good, with some money, as well as care, obviously spent on it. The ending isn’t exactly convincing or credible, but it is quite extravagant and entertaining.

Alastair Sim is most amusing in a fairly outrageous comedy turn, a rare case of a Scottish actor putting on a fake Scottish accent, but, that is quite enough, and the film is afflicted by too much capering about, too many comedy turns (Fred Groves as Martin, Bill Shine as Alfie). Another problem is the dull extended love story between Barrabal and Carol Stedman. This is not at all a fine romance, and it holds up the mystery. Tamara Desni’s singing/ dancing turns hold up the mystery too, with her three numbers, including ‘He’s Gone’ and ‘I Can’t Get Along Without You’, but she is more fascinating than Ann Todd, and the love story between Larry Graeme and Tamara fits into the thriller plot much better. So too much comedy, too much romance, then, and too little mystery.

Then there is Edmund Lowe. The American actor Edmund Lowe, posing as a Canadian character, doesn’t quite fit in to the British project, though he does gradually establish a presence and authority in it. But Sebastian Shaw, Robert Newton, Tamara Desni, Allan Jeayes and Stewart Rome are all seemingly effortlessly good, fitting in nicely, and entertaining well.

Also in the cast are Mabel Terry-Lewis, Gordon McLeod, Alf Goddard, Syd Crossley and Michael Rennie.

Wallace’s son Bryan Edgar Wallace worked on the screenplay. The scenario is by Bryan Edgar Wallace (as Bryan Wallace) and the screenplay is by Ted Berkman (as Edward O Berkman).

It was made at the London Film Studios Denham, Buckinghamshire, England.

Lowe had just played the part in a hit London stage revival.

The Squeaker is underworld slang for an informer.

Murder on Diamond Row is its US alternative title.

Alastair Sim went on appear in another Edgar Wallace adaptation the following year, The Terror (1938).

The cast

The main cast are Edmund Lowe as Inspector Barrabal, Sebastian Shaw as Frank Sutton, Ann Todd as Carol Stedman, Tamara Desni as Tamara, Robert Newton as Larry Graeme, Allan Jeayes as Inspector Elford, Alastair Sim as Joshua Collie, Stewart Rome as Police Superintendent Marshall, Mabel Terry-Lewis as Mrs Stedman, Gordon McLeod as Mr Field, Alf Goddard as Sergeant Hawkins, Danny Green as Safecracker, Philip Ray as Safecracker, Fred Groves as Martin, Bill Shine as Alfie, Ben Williams as Dale, Noel Dainton as Police Inspector, Syd Crossley, Neva Carr Glyn, and Michael Rennie as Medical Examiner.

The Squeaker is directed by William K Howard, runs 77 minutes, is made by London Film Productions, is distributed by United Artists (UK and US), is written by Ted Berkman (as Edward O Berkman) (screenplay) and Bryan Edgar Wallace (as Bryan Wallace) (scenario), based on the novel and play by Edgar Wallace, is produced by Alexander Korda, is shot in black and white by Georges Périnal, is scored by Miklós Rózsa, and designed by Vincent Korda.

Release dates: August 26, 1937 (London), 6 November 1937 (UK) and November 11, 1937 (US).

Box office £42,858 (UK).

It was made again as The Squeaker (1963) in Germany, where Wallace was particularly popular, directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Heinz Drache.

The 1930 film The Squeaker is notable in that it is directed by Edgar Wallace himself. Wallace’s son, Bryan Edgar Wallace, edited the film. It is confirmed as the film debut of Nigel Bruce.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,428

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