WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES (1961). Director: Edward L. Cahn.

The Cady Lodge, owned and run by Cady (Henry Corden), is located not far from a prison. That very night a man, Pierce, is about to be executed, although witness Sam Morgan (James Brown) isn't so sure about his identification of the condemned man. On the road Sam picks up Ellie (Merry Anders of Legacy of Blood), who turns out to be Mrs. Pierce, the wife of the man on death row. Apparently there's $600,000 floating around and both Sam and Ellie want a piece of it -- could the answer be in the condemned man's effects? As the couple conspire, Sheriff Mitchell (Roy Barcroft of G-Men Never Forget) drops by for his usual beer --- and there's two other visitors to the lodge: Martinez (Jorge Moreno), who insists that he killed the man allegedly murdered by the now-dead Pierce; and yet another "Mrs. Pierce" (Peggy Stewart)!

Corden, Brown and Anders

When the Clock Strikes, while illogical at times, certainly has an intriguing premise as well as a few good twists. It's fun to see major serial villain Roy Barcroft playing a good guy for a change. Brown and Anders offer lead performances that are competent but suggest there wasn't much rehearsal time for this very low-budget opus. Edward L. Cahn was the prolific director of seemingly a thousand B movies, including The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake, Invasion of the Saucer Men, and Voodoo Woman. 

Verdict: Minor but intriguing little mystery movie. **1/2.