COVER GIRL KILLER

Spencer Teakle and Felicity Young

COVER GIRL KILLER (1959). Writer/Director: Terry Bishop.

John (Spencer Teakle) has inherited a pin up magazine called Wow. He discovers that several of the women who appeared on the cover have been murdered, and are found wearing the same outfits and in similar poses as on those covers. Detective-Inspector Brunner (Victor Brooks) importunes June (Felicity Young) to pose for the cover so that he can trap the killer (Harry H. Corbett), a scheme that doesn't thrill John, who is in love with June. But the killer, who goes about wearing a wig and weird spectacles, is more clever than the police may realize and June could be in serious danger.

Harry H. Corbett in disguise

Cover Girl Killer may sound like a good bet for thriller fans, but this British production doesn't have the lurid intensity of, say, Horrors of the Black Museum, or the American film The Hypnotic Eye. About an hour long, it looks like a cheap TV production and although it does manage to hold your interest, has minimal suspense and excitement. Besides the fact that there is little flair to the direction, this is due to an overly sparse musical score (attributed to William Davies) that might have added a small degree of tension. There have been better half hour TV shows on the same theme than this. Everyone in this British film drinks coffee instead of tea!

Verdict: Some coffee jitters might have helped this movie. **.