One in the series of Merton Park's film shorts which were made under the title 'Scotland Yard' and released as second features to cinemas in the British Isles. These were later repackaged and sold for screenings on television abroad and in Great Britain under that title and as 'Casebook'. This film opens with the dour Edgar Lustgarten talking about 'The Case of "The Smiling Widow"' which was known in the police files as 'The Adams Case' A very low budget short, made in under a week but it doesn't seem rushed. It begins after painter Peter Adams is found dead in Art dealer Christopher Nicholls' home after supposedly gassing himself by using the oven at the house in Hamstead, London. At the coroner's inquest Nicholls talks about Adams' last night alive by saying he had a lot to drink, But Doctor Harding goes against this by stating that there was hardly any alcohol in Adams' body. Because of this statement the police then open an investigation lead by Superintendent Duggan. The film seems very cheap and downbeat with Bates, the police driver finding out more information than Duggan by talking to Nicholls' servants while having a tea break with them, rather than been on the beat investigating. 'The Smiling Widow' is later revealed to be a painting by 'an old master' that was faked by Adams and later sold by Nicholls. To find out more Duggan later goes (via stock footage) to Rome, Italy where he meets an Italian inspector played by Roger Delgardo (later made famous as the original 'Master' in 'Doctor Who'). As the running time is only half an hour it goes along pretty fast and everything comes out at the end, in that Adams was blackmailing Nicholls for selling imitation masterpiece paintings, so Nicholls killed him, or did he? In a nice twist ending it turns out that his wife Janet killed him and moved the heavy body downstairs by using a wheelchair. She killed Adams due to her been his jealous lover. Nice scenic shots of 1950's London and something quick and interesting to watch for half an hour with a great unexpected ending.
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Bernard-Dunne17 April 2010
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Prismark1015 February 2021The body of artist Peter Adams is found dead in the home of art dealer Christopher Nicholls.
It looks like Adams gassed himself in the oven. Superintendent Duggan looks further into the case.
A policeman finds out from the servants that the Nicholls cat also died that day and there was trouble with the gas supply.
Duggan discovers that Adams was a forger. He was working on a painting from an old master called The Smiling Widow.
It might be Nicholls was selling the forgeries Adams produced or Adams was even blackmailing him.
If it was murder Duggan needs to figure how Adams was gassed and how did Nicholls managed to move the body. He is a polio victim who has trouble walking unaided.
It is another of these episode where the inspector needs to go abroad and stock footage gets an airing.
This time it is the turn of Rome and once again Roger Delgado pops up to help the police abroad.
There is a nice twist when it comes to the reveal of the actual murderer and the method they used. The dead cat was an important clue.
This instalment of Scotland Yard takes a while to heat up but it gets there at the end. -
Supt Duggan of the Yard (played by Russell Napier) investigates the suspicious death of painter Peter Adams. He was found with his head in a gas oven at the home of art dealer Christopher Nicholls (played by Carl Jaffe) with whom he was staying as a guest. A lead is provided by Interpol about a suspected forgery of a 17th-century Italian painting called The Smiling Widow. It is believed that Nicholls has acquired it and then tried to sell it on. Duggan visits the art dealer to find him burning something on the fire. The astute policeman manages to collect up some of the ashes from the grate while he is not looking, which are submitted to forensics. They reveal the remains of a sketch, possibly an attempt to copy The Smiling Widow since the eyes on both the suspected fake and the burnt remains from the fireplace are identical. Duggan gets confirmation that it is a fake from an Italian art expert in Rome who also says that whoever painted it had also drawn the eyes on the latter. It later transpires that Adams was blackmailing Nicholls and Duggan suspects that the two men were specialists in making and selling forgeries of old masters. Nicholls is now the prime murder suspect, but Duggan needs the answers to the following questions before he can be certain. 1.) Why had the gas in Nicholls' house been turned off on the fatal night? 2.) Why did the family cat die suddenly in Adams' room at the same time? 3.) What reason is there for tape marks being found on his bedroom door? 4.) What is the explanation for there being scratch marks on the wall of the stairway leading to the kitchen? Is Nicholls his man, or is someone else responsible?
Another enjoyable entry in the classic Scotland Yard series, which shoehorns a lot of plot twists into its short running time. In a mere half-an-hour, the actions moves swiftly from London to Essex and Rome! Gil Saunders' screenplay plays fair with the audience leading to a plausible solution to the case at the end. There are a few familiar faces in the cast like Roger Delgado who would become noted for playing The Master in Dr Who. Russell Napier was, of course, a regular in this series as the astute man from the Yard. He gets a few witty lines here such as "The next time they tell you Duggan's a big head, you can show them how useful it is" as he removes his Homburg hat to show his sergeant how he got the tell-tale charred remains out of the suspect's fireplace. The film has the show's usual feeling for period and place with Philip Grindrod and Bert Mason's b/w camerawork enhancing the settings. Once again, the direction is by Montgomery Tully. -
l_rawjalaurence18 February 2018Two stalwarts of the SCOTLAND YARD series, Montgomery Tully and Russell Napier, combine in this tale of a suicide victim who isn't quite what it seems.