Account Rendered (1957) User Reviews (16)

Workable and enjoyable

[dj_kennett · 7/10 · 24 May 2001]

This strangely short murder-mystery is a good reminder of why the English film industry was so strong during this period.

The cast of relative unknowns (with the exception of a young Honor Blackman) deliver a tight story in a precise way. The sub texts of the story are not laboured, creating an involving story.

It's worth the time.

Interesting to see hampstead in the fifties

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 17 November 2018]

This film was shot around Hampstead Heath.There is a glimpse of Hampstead police station.The film works as a whodunit because nearly everyone seems to have a motive to kill the victim.Though it has to be said that Griffith Jones is quids in.Losing a hated wife and gaining the delectable Honor Blackman who would go on to far better films than this.

"I can see myself dodging across the railway lines in high heel shoes"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 6/10 · 25 June 2022]

A modest but good mystery film with a capable cast from the main leads to the supporting characters. The wife of a merchant banker who is quite free with her favours is murdered on Hampstead Heath. Was it her husband, one of her friends, one of her lovers or someone else? Detective Inspector Marshall and Detective Sgt. Berry are tasked with solving the slaying. Though am not sure what the motive of the murderer was, perhaps I missed something. Peter Graham Scott directs the players well and Walter J. Harvey provides crisp cinematography, particularly the external shooting. The overhead shot of the dead body illuminated by lightning is very striking. Worth a watch.

excellent 'b' picture

[sevreschool · 20 June 2001]

Imagine you have gone to the pictures in the fifties, possibly with mum and dad. You start by seeing this little jewel of a film, then the forthcoming attractions, Pearl and Dean adverts and then Pathé News!!! Before the main feature, sit back and enjoy a choc-ice. The main film could have been....... (use your imagination). Brings it all back, doesn't it?

If only all 1 hour TV police stories made today were as well written as well acted and as well directed.

Decent mystery with plenty of suspects

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 5 January 2022]

Lucille Ainsworth is married to Robert Ainsworth (Griffith Jones). She has commissioned her portrait to be painted by an artist, Clive (John van Eyssen) as a gift to her husband. Clive is also her lover.

When Lucille sees the portrait, she hates it. She goes to Hampstead Heath, where she is later found murdered.

Afraid he is going to be accused, her husband fakes an alibi with his business partner, Gilbert Morgan (Carl Bernard).

Meanwhile, Lucille's best friend (Honor Blackman) is in love with Robert. It falls to two police detectives to discover the murderer, which they do with careful police work. They trace a coat back to its original owner, and figure out how one person could be at the murder site, despite having an alibi -- too far away to reach the murder scene at the right time.

investigation into the murder of a seriously unpleasant woman

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 5 October 2018]

In this well-made thriller, police investigate the murder of a rich banker's wife. The woman, outwardly a paragon of respectability, went through life nursing quite a lot of vices : adultery (or near-adultery), gambling, overspending and so on. Sadly enough for the police, this also means that she went through life accumulating a lot of enemies...

"Account rendered" is a carefully made film with an interesting intrigue and some cunning twists and turns. It is also clever enough to keep the viewer busy with nicely ambiguous clues and hints. For instance, it is possible that the murdered woman tried to fight her attacker. The police inspector investigating the case interviews a possible witness/suspect and notices that the man (a prosperous gentleman of good repute) bears a scratch upon his body. Asked after the origins of the scratch, the gentleman smilingly shows his well-cared-for pet, kept in a special travelling basket : a little Siamese cat with a somewhat nervous disposition. Does this fact indicate that the man is innocent, or that he is a murderer of keen intelligence and uncommon cold-bloodedness ?

"Account rendered" moves at a good clip, without slowness or padding.

On the other hand it would be wrong to say that the movie and the characters pulse with life and emotion. Stiff upper-lips abound and it is all very British and restrained - perhaps to the point of flatness or superficiality.

In the movie, the murder victim, when still alive, was having her portrait painted by a struggling artist. The said portrait is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen ; I leave it up to you to decide whether the effect was voluntary or not...

Nifty little mystery

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 9 January 2022]

A cheating wife gets killed on the moors, and police find that everyone had a motive for the murder. It's a dark little mystery with well-etched characters and plenty of twist and turns to keep you guessing who the murderer is. The set up, the motives of each suspect is well-drawn, guaranteeing suspense. It's a tad melodramatic, but well-made, well-acted and absorbing.

Not Much of a Movie, But Good as a Mystery

[boblipton · 5/10 · 17 December 2018]

Ursula Howells, wife of merchant banker Griffith Jones, exchanges catty remarks with Honor Blackman at a party, goes to her lover, painter John van Eyssen, to see the painting of herself she is giving to her husband on his birthday, leaves abruptly to go to Hampstead Heath. When there, she screams at the camera and soon the police are investigating her murder. There are half a dozen fine candidates in this mystery.

This 58-minute B movie is directed at such a breakneck speed by Peter Graham Scott that there is no wasted time. There's also nothing in terms of grace notes, rendering the skilled players almost superfluous. True, Harry Ross, who turns up late, gets some humor out of his three-minute turn, but that's about the limit of it.

On the other hand, the movie does play fair enough with the rules of writing a mystery; I thought I had spotted the murderer early based on structure, but turned out to be wrong. As a result, if you enjoy a mystery without much in the way of frills, this is for you. Me, I want more.

Okay little British mystery

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 27 July 2021]

When a wealthy woman with a closet full of skeletons is murdered, there are no shortage of suspects. From a jealous husband to secret lovers, Lucille Ainsworth's death leaves the police with several paths they'll need to go down to find the killer.

Overall, Account Rendered is a decent little British mystery, but doesn't have enough gong for it to call it much more than average. While several plot twists work quite well, there are instances where the film can get a bit dull. It's all filmed in a matter-of-fact style that, while efficient, doesn't allow for much story or character development. It may have been a product of the film's age or the transfer I watched, but it's not a very good looking movie either. Drab would be the word I'd use to describe it. The movie was released in 1957 , but it looks more like 1937. Finally, Account Rendered ends with a satisfactory conclusion, which is always nice in a mystery.

Just as I described the film, I'd also call the film's group of unknown actors (well, unknown to me) "efficient". The only real name in the cast is Honor Blackman. She does fine in a small role. The standout performance is Ewen Solon as Inspector Marshall. He easily brings the most life to the proceedings.

5/10.

The problem of a too beautiful wife of a too prosperous banker

[clanciai · 9/10 · 11 December 2018]

This is a brilliant thriller on a small scale, the restricted format of less than 80 minutes comprising a considerable mess of intrigues, as this wife already from the beginning shamelessly confesses to her infidelity, while her husband receives an alarming note which we are never initiated in, there is a reckless artist involved also who gets mixed up in some fights, and there is extortion and embezzlement, all in a wonderful complex of a mystery where everyone could be guilty wile they all are proved innocent by alibis. Honor Blackman is the leading actress here, not far from a Lizabeth Scott character, while the fast action makes it difficult for all the men involved to catch on, but it all makes sense in the end with great satisfaction to the audience after a Hitchcockian train finale.

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 5/10 · 16 September 2005]

A pretty run-of-the-mill, but yet still reasonably entertaining British murder mystery, there are a few well-done bits, but not quite enough for them to really be notable. The characters, the acting and the story never rise above the ordinary, however it can at least be said that they never fall below the mark either. The special weather effects for lightning, achieved by scratching actual film, are a sight to see, even if they look quite fake. There is not much else to strongly recommend this early English film on, but if comes to television, it is perhaps worth a look. Honor Blackman would, of course, later go on to be Pussy Galore.

Not what i expected ......

[jefadlm-1 · 5/10 · 6 January 2022]

Peter Graham Scott , Decades have passed since Subterfuge he made around 1966 (ish) and it only now clearly indicates that he was a very busy quick on the draw director,! Sub was a flop from which the unique Joan Collins was the only value in a weak and tiresome spy plot.

This made for tv rated a B ( for the uninitiated meant for those far off years when cinemas screened TWO films, the weaker story always took screening precedence with the stronger one to finally follow ) 'Account 'was a well written plot during which Mr. Scotts usual tight and taught mystery was unevenly directed and in 2 glaring scenes was abysmally over acted and possibly experimented with an aspiring assistant director to take the reins , which resulted in some pretty harsh flack ! Apart from that , the narrative does hold our interest as to who was the murderer ? As a previous viewer said, she or he thought they realized the answer and got it wrong, as did I also !

Over all interesting with a dash of mirth added for good measure ? Worth watching, as long as the viewer accepts the occasional wallowing over dramatization here and there ?

Passable B picture

[adrianovasconcelos · 5/10 · 11 April 2020]

Greatest thing about this movie is Honor Blackman, the famous Pussy Galore of Goldfinger (UK 1964), sadly deceased on 5 April 2020.

Acting is OK but far from memorable, short story, all done in 57 min. Standard photography.

Neither good nor bad, watchable if you have nothing else to do while Covid-19 keeps you confined. Or, after Covid hopefully goes, if want to test your eyes with Honor...

Honor Blackman Was a Jewel in British 1950s Bs!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 2 December 2019]

British cinema of the 1950s had a real jewel in Honor Blackman, she was a cool sophisticated blonde (rather like Eva Marie Saint) but most of her film work was unrewarding - she was usually the dutiful wife as in "Account Rendered", the more showy role of the femme fatale going to Ursula Howells. She is Lucille Ainsworth who flirts her way through dinner then must leave early to keep a rendevous with another lover (an artist) but is appalled by his portrait of her which displays her selfishness and ruthless look for all to see. Her husband is not sitting idle - he has followed her, to her final destination down by the lakes - he makes his way down to have it out with her, knocks himself out with a fall and when he comes to it is to find he is a chief suspect in her murder!!

The thing that stops this being just another follow the dots murder are the Langfords - at the dinner they appear quite swanky but when the police track them down for questioning they are anything but!! Living in a run down flat with the ever on high volume radio competing with the couple's constant bickering!! In fact the scene ends with a bit of intensity when John being led to the police station for questioning races back as he realises Nell's hysteria is just a mask for her vulnerability!! Too late - it may be way over the top but the scene makes the movie memorable!!

Griffith Jones, way back in the mid 1930s was Jessie Matthews co-star in a couple of her movies - he aged very well and by the late 1940s had found work as a character actor. I even saw him the other night on a "Public Eye" episode - grey and dapper and with a complex part he could really get his teeth into!!!

Ok, but continuity is a problem with the solution presented

[6465Jones · 3/10 · 1 January 2019]

I was ok with this movie until the conclusion presented a key piece of evidence that is not backed up by the sequence of visual evidence. Can't say what it is without giving the story away, but it was a sloppy execution of editing.

As the lightning strikes, so does a killer!

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 14 September 2020]

Nearing the end of the British quota quickie era came this one. It is easily one of the best of the several dozen that I have seen up to this point, focusing on the murder of a fascinating femme fatale (Ursula Howells), outwardly charming but deliciously malicious. She's the wife of successful banker Griffith Jones who seems unaware of her infidelities, and naturally, he is the first one questioned after she is found dead after a thunder storm of grave proportions.

A fascinating dinner party with Jones and Howell hosting several friends (among them Honor Blackman) and ironically discussing the option of murdering one's spouse, and it's soon obvious that Jones knows more than he's telling as he scrambles to find an alibi.

The other main suspect (mainly from the point of view from the audience) is artist John Van Eyssen who has a bit more of an obsession with her. Blackman, revealing her love for Jones, is made another possibility as are their acquaintances Mary Tenes and Paul Gilbert, also victims of Howell's game playing. Tenes, the very epitome of the neurotic wife, takes dramatic steps that adds them to the growing list.

Impressively made yet under an hour, this dark little thriller shows how one person's antics can destroy, even after their death. Jaw dropping photography and sudden twists are exciting and help keep the viewer hooked. I've seen lightning storms like the one that occurs early in the film, yet my experiences were never a metaphor like the one that overpowers the screams Howell lets out here.