They Met In The Dark Review
They Met in the Dark is a bright and breezy little espionage thriller starring the incomparable James Mason that could be described as a Hitchock light. Having never seen it previously I must admit that anything featuring the legendary Mason is a must on my radar.
The film follows naval officer Richard Francis Heritage (James Mason) and Laura Verity (Joyce Howard) as they attempt to solve the mystery of a dead body. Heritage has been found guilty at a court martial for disobeying a direct order and cannot solve how it happened. His investigations lead him to a cottage where a dead body is awaiting both him and Laura. Now on the run from the police they ultimately decide to team up to prove their innocence. The chase then moves from Blackpool to Liverpool as they attempt to crack a Nazi spy ring.
They Met in the Dark basically takes The Thirty Nine Steps and The Lady Vanishes and melds them together. The one aspect of both films that is perfectly replayed is the humor that underplays the actual Nazi threat in the film. Further adding to the humor, all be it unintentionally, is the inclusion of Max, Mouth Harmonica Player (Ronald Chesney), who would by today be relegated to the likes of Britain’s Got Talent. Max can without a doubt carry a tune on his organ but he does over egg the pudding slightly too equally hilarious and annoying results.
The highlight of the film is undoubtedly the super cool James Mason who remains as captivating today as he ever did. He begins the film with probably the worst fake beard I have ever seen and it’s a moment of joy once he decides to return to the clean shaven Mason I expect. Calm under pressure as always, he jokes and charms his way through the entire film. His relationship with the somewhat annoying Howard is fun enough but does come a little too close to Donat and Carroll from The Thirty Nine Steps.
The weak point of the film comes towards the end when they reveal exactly how the spies are getting their information. Then we have to wait another twenty minutes before everyone is in custody. The tantalizing aspect of the narrative is the question of how they get information out of naval personnel without them actually knowing. Once this has been clarified there is little excitement in more chases and fisticuffs just waiting around for the titles to role. The Thirty Nine Steps running time was barely 80 minutes and in that respect They Met in the Dark should have followed suit.
Minor quibbles to one side this film is still hugely enjoyable and heartily welcomed on DVD by the folks over at Odeon. Having never seen this before, I was more than pleased with the outcome given the minor reputation it has. James Mason is as glorious as ever proving once again that he remains one of British acting’s true legends. On a rainy evening in the winter I could think of nothing better than settling in with this entertaining flick.
Aled Jones