User reviews

"The Secret Partner," from 1961, is a nifty British film starring Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet, and Bernard Lee. Granger is a successful businessman, John Brent, who is being blackmailed by a dentist. The man knows that in the past, Brent went by another name and was caught embezzling. Because of all the money Brent spends on blackmail, his wife (Harareet) believes that there's another woman. When he has a party for business and tells people she's in Zurich, his wife returns and, in front of the guests, announces that she's leaving him.

When a safe at his business is robbed, suspicion falls on him because he is one of two people who have the combination. His office keys show filings from being copied. He denies ever giving anyone the combination or having the keys copied. The dentist, meanwhile, is having problems of his own - he's visited by a mysterious man who makes some demands of him.

Since it's to be the last case of a retiring detective superintendent (Lee), he's anxious to solve the robbery. It all seems a little too pat for him.

Nifty mystery with not only some twists, but an unexpected ending.

I really liked this film. Granger does a good job as the man with problems everywhere he looks. Harareet is beautiful, but doesn't have much of a role. Lee is likable as the retiring superintendent, reminding us that justice isn't always found in the courts.

Recommended.

Very few crime films end on a tragic note, especially if the plot does not involve deaths and maiming. This is one such example. The last shot of the film--a long shot--of the protagonist walking alone arouses the viewers pity.

The film seems to infer that the bad guys remain bad and end up losers. Today such stories would seem sociologically incorrect to film. The plot of the film is rather good and would provide the viewer with his/her money's worth.

The last half hour of the film not only entertains but is quaintly philosophical. Haya Harareet's ("Ben Hur"'s Esther) character is a fascinating study of love for her husband and what she decides to do is even more poignant and elegant. Stewart Granger and Bernard Lee (M of the early James Bond films) perform well, but the ultimate heroes are the story writers (David Pursall and Jack Seddon) and the director Basil Deardon who make the film fairly above-average entertainment.

Stewart Granger plays John Brent, a man you feel really sorry for throughout much of the movie. It seems he's a successful businessman and yet his life is an apparent mess. His wife has left him and he's being blackmailed by a spineless drunk dentist. Could things get worse? Absolutely. But how and how he tries to extricate himself....you'll just have to see that when you watch this British thriller.

The film manages to work well for quite a few reasons. The acting is really very good, the writing clever and imaginative and the director managed to infuse the film with a nice brooding mood. Overall, a film that should be higher rated than it currently is...and well worth your time.

I first saw this film in 1961. Many years later, it turned up on Turner Classic Movies and, like a fool, I sat here watching it without making a tape of it. What a mistake that was. Although this film is well worth watching and has a clever twist ending, all indications are that it is unavailable anywhere on video or DVD. Don't miss it if it comes up on TV again.

The plot creaks along slightly but worth seeing for the views of London docks as they were. The Bernard Lee character is also memorable for the number of cigarettes he smokes. In every scene he's in, he's either smoking, lighting up or lighting another cigarette from his previous one. Obviously a 60-a-day man. Older viewers will recall Conrad Phillips at the star of the long-running William Tell TV series in which he battled Willoughby Goddard who appears in the movie as the seedy hotel keeper. Stalwart British character actors Norman Bird, Hugh Burden and Lee Montague also shine, while Melissa Stibling was the wife of the film's director Basil Dearden

A good thriller,which loses steam halfway through ,but regains its interest in the last thirty minutes,thanks to a very good unexpected twist.Yes there was such a thing almost fifty years ago.

An aging Stewart Granger portrays a wealthy British Bourgeois with a shady past whose marriage with Nicole (the beautiful Haya Harareet,famous for her part of Esther in "Ben Hur") is on the rocks. His dentist blackmails him ,and around him ,everybody may be a potential danger.The plot involves drugs,robbery,a soon-to-be-retired cop and plenty of foggy views of London in a bleak black and white.It's not in the same as league as Hitchcock,but it's quite entertaining.

Stewart Granger was the best actor in English cinema in their history , he was famous in the kind of historical films especially in the time of 17th until 19th centuries.

In this film he made a surprise for the audience for changing his choice for the kind of thriller films which was cleverness from him to prove for all people that he was good actor and great artist in his history , he increased in this classical film beside his diamond films as:1- prisoner of Zenda. 2- The treasure of king Solemon. 3- Beau Brummel. 4- Salome.

This film made their thriller in cleverly way with professional touch which made it their success.

I realize the Brits have famously terrible teeth. I guess it never occurred to me that it was due to a critical shortage of dentists. I mean, if my dentist blackmails me I may or not pay him off on the blackmail, but for sure I'm getting my cavities filled by a different dentist. The LAST thing I do is go to the blackmailing dentist and let him use potentially lethal gas on me. For one thing, what if, after I've threatened to kill him in the previous scene, he decides it's too risky to keep blackmailing me and devises a plot to murder me. I mean, ''patient dies in dentist's chair" wasn't exactly rare in those days. It might not even result in a coroner's inquiry.

Anyway, if you can overlook that total implausibility, this movie is a decent crime thriller. It's expertly staged, directed and acted. Well above average for its genre and for British movies in general.

Plus, any movie with Haya Harareet (there are only 9, after all) is a rare treasure. It's not an exaggeration to say she was one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen.

Stewart Granger proves he didn't have to take his shirt off or shoot any lions to dominate the screen. Yet Bernard Lee nearly steals the show as a jaded veteran detective. And if he doesn't, the slovenly slum hotel desk clerk Willoughby Godard certainly does.

To say the story wraps up with an extremely satisfying philosophical note would be understating things. What a refreshing, mature surprise.

John Brent is an executive working for Charles Standish in a shipping company. John is having trouble with his wife Nikki, but he has to host a party for their client. He invites Charles and his wife Helen over to persuade Nikki. Instead, Nikki has left him claiming that he's cheating on her. In reality, he's being blackmailed by a dentist named Ralph Beldon. A mystery man with inside information visits Ralph to partner up with him. Ralph reluctantly accepts. The mystery man drives off with Nikki.

It's a lot of double dealing and hidden agendas. It's a convoluted twisted thriller. It's fun for a while. There are some unlikely turns. I never got to the point where I'm rooting for John. The acting is excellent. It's a mystery thriller of whodunwhat.

Loved it! This was more than a worthwhile view, but of course I'm partial to mysteries so my rating of 10 may be too high for some. But the movie had me guessing throughout, and the ending was absolutely superb, as I was thrown for a loop. The movie was very clever and darn right sneaky how it ended! I Loved it!

A wealthy London-based shipping magnate (Stewart Granger) is blackmailed by an evil dentist which threatens to reveal an old case of fraud, while the dentist himself is threaten by a mysterious masked man.

Skilful characterisation and the strong performances of Stewart Granger as the executive, Norman Bird as the dentist, and Bernard Lee as the dogged, chain-smoking policeman looking forward to retirement and an arresting plot puts this above the usual fare. There's nice shot of London, foggy streets and a snazzy jazz. Stewart Granger is really good in his role, and looks suitably rattled. The finale is quite surprising and philosophical.

The films of Basil Dearden are indeed a mixed bag. This one is pretty awful by any director's standards. A 'thriller' that totally fails to thrill and utterly devoid of momentum and suspense. The only redeeming features are Stewart Granger whose 'star quality' is undeniable and the wonderful Bernard Lee. One never catches Lee 'acting' and he effortlessly steals all of his scenes. The lovely Haya Harareet was splendidly directed by the great William Wyler in 'Ben Hur' but here she looks like a fish out of water.

The rest of the cast is uniformly adequate, the script by Pursell and Seddon weak and the music of Philip Green atrocious.

One of Dearden's duds.

This movie may not be up to the technical standards of today, but this is the kind of movie that gives you entertainment without trying to pander to some cause, or make me feel guilty about driving an SUV. There isn't any raw sex, exposed skin, car crashes, vulgar language or hidden messages. The only gun fire is target shooting, and nobody throws a punch as I recall. Yet, this is the sort of entertainment that my generation expected when we went to the movies. The plot is well conceived and keeps you guessing until the very end. The actors at the time this movie was made were very popular at the box office, and all gave an excellent performance. The female lead is an Israli actress who played opposite Charleton Heston in Ben Hur. Stewart Granger made movies for both American and English film companies, and could have made an excellent James Bond. The back drop of 1961 London has the feel of an American B & W detective movie of the "film noire" genre. Unlike some English movies made at the time, the dialog is not filled with English idioms. This is a little gem that you can watch with your relatives during the Hollidays.

The Secret Partner is one of the few films to show at length what it was like to go to the dentist and have treatment under gas, something that everyone in the 40s and 50s would have experienced but is now unknown to present generations. It is a very authentic reconstruction, although when Stewart Granger comes round before being given "the truth drug" it is very unlikely he would have had enough of his wits about him that quickly to follow his plan to fool the dentist. I certainly could not on the times I had gas. But for a low budget film it is an excellent story and has a good ending. I am not a great fan of Stewart granger but enjoy this film, pity it is not out on DVD

Stewart Granger, one of the best British actors ever, is an actor who can play anything with his unique style. He will always be one of my favorites.

The movie is very good, with very smart plot twists.

Just watched it for the third time and it gets better with each viewing. Super stylish credits, with a great moody jazz score from Philip Green. I am bored with the modern tendency to fill a movie with various styles of music, usually sung, for commercial reasons, while not having a cohesive theme, if you'll pardon the pun. A shipping executive, played by Stewart Granger, is accused of raiding the company safe for 100,00. Pounds that is. 1961 that is. When the going rate was 2.40 dollars to the pound. He is having marital problems with his wife Haya Harrareet, who played the love interest in Ben Hur ,and is heavily in debt due to an extravagant lifestyle, including a boat which he is conveniently on as the robbery is being committed. Bernard Lee plays the detective inspector assigned to solve the case on the eve of retirement ( although how long he expects to survive in retirement with the chain smoking he does in this movie is anybody's guess ) and as always is reliably excellent. The too seldom seen Hugh Burden ( who was great as Protopopov in Fall of Eagles ) plays Granger's supervisor, and the beautiful Melissa Stribling plays Burden's wife, both of whom may have reason to frame our poor protagonist, among a few others. I'll say no more. Suffice it to say, this twisty thriller is well woth the hour and a half. I was, however, slightly disappointed with the denouement. That prevented me form giving the movie ten stars. And another one from the great director Basil Dearden must be seen. League of Gentlemen