American film director Reggie Wilson (Richard Basehart of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) has come to England to continue his career after he made the mistake of having an affair with the boss's wife. Now he's managed to marry the daughter, Lesley (Faith Brook), of the head of the British studio, and also importuned an old girlfriend, Kay Wallace (Constance Cummings), to star in his latest picture even though his father-in-law, Ben Case (Roger Livesey) isn't fully supportive. But when he begins receiving letters from a supposed old flame named Evelyn (Mary Murphy), he wonders if he's going crazy. Evelyn insists that they were lovers in America but he swears to his wife and everyone else that he never even met the lady. Tracking the woman down, Reggie and Lesley discover that Evelyn is determined to stick to her story even when the police are called in.
Finger of Guilt is one of the better British B mysteries with a suspenseful storyline and some fine performances, with Basehart in top form, Cummings in fine support, and Mary Murphy perfection as the mysterious and determined Evelyn. Joseph Losey went on to direct much more famous movies than this one.
Verdict: Basehart's strong performance helps this flick enormously. ***.
This must be a decade before Losey went all 'artsy' with films like Secret Ceremony and Boom! Two of the worst films I have ever seen, despite the fact that they both start my goddess Elizabeth Taylor!
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Even La Liz couldn't save every movie, LOL! I remember when they showed "Secret Ceremony" on TV and they chopped it up and added new scenes to satisfy Broadcast Standards, and it was an even bigger mess. I did watch the original years later but apparently it was before I started my movie blogs as I can't find a review of it. I haven't seen Boom in decades. Not in a hurry to re-watch either one of them! Losey directed quite a few stinkers!
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