Dir: Ian Fordyce | Scr: Brian Clemens | Ph: Tony Hudspith | Prod: Ian Fordyce | Mus: Laurie Johnson | Ed: Al Pidgen & Stanley Staffe | PD: Anthony Waller | SD: Bob Woodhouse | Cast: Gary Collins, Penelope Horner, James Villiers, Peter Bowles, Stuart Wilson, John Flanagan, Hilda Fenemore, Griffith Davies, Michael Stainton
In this wonderfully unpredictable Hitchcockian thriller, the American husband of a rich Englishwoman spends his evenings in local pubs and bars advertising the fact that their stately home, with all its gold, silver, and expensive paintings, is anything but burglar-proof, in the hopes of catching one in the act who he can then persuade to murder his wife for him. Eventually, he manages to snag one and makes a deal with him, but his seemingly fool-proof plan soon goes awry, as he fails to take into account the murderous burglar’s enigmatic motives and a detective superintendent’s underhanded investigative methods. Excellent.
