The Big Frame (1952)

Powerful

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

THE LOST HOURS is a fairly interesting and watchable small-time British thriller. This one has been noticeably modelled on the American film noir genre, and there's even an imported lead (Mark Stevens) to help make it feel like an American flick.The storyline is a straightforward mystery about a pilot who's slipped a Mickey Finn one night and wakes up in the morning accused of murder and with no memory of the night's events. Luckily he has a few people willing to help him keep one step ahead of the police, and a gradual uncovering of the mystery follows.Alongside Stevens, the film features the hard-working John Bentley, who gets to do something a little other than his stock hero type role. He's not very convincing in the part, though. Far better is the smouldering Dianne Foster, the femme fatale type, who really brings her rather racy screen moments to life with some heavily suggestive dialogue. There are cameos for the ubiquitous likes of Thora Hird, Ballard Berkeley, Duncan Lamont, and Sam Kydd. Altogether it's a familiar kind of picture, derivative but involving all the same.

At an RAF reunion, an ex-RAF, dashing American pilot Paul Smith tells of his now heroic career as a test pilot. A minor fight occurs, instigated by Peters, now a surly import/export businessman - turns nasty during which quick-tempered Stevens threatens to kill him. The other chaps break up the fight and explain that Peters is alright when he hasn't had a drink. Stevens has another drink, which has been spiked. Later they all drift off and Stevens leaves after the party. Next day Stevens awakes with no memory of the night before since leaving the reunion and finds blood on his suit. He discovers that Peters has been killed and realizes he has become the chief suspect. He has been setup and decides to relive the events of the night before, ably abetted by fiancée Louise Parker in the process of seeking the truth - and hopefully supporting evidence, in order to clear his name, before he is arrested for murder by the police. In doing so he ends up acting as a private detective investigating all his old war buddy suspects.The police are always once step behind the protagonist in the chase to question him on (multiple) murder charges but two steps behind in their investigation. The Scotland Yard head of the investigation detective treats the whole affair as something to keep his sergeant awake, sending him from seemingly one dead body to another, and from one poor alibi to another for all the suspects. Who all have reasons to lie about who & what they know regarding the dead import/export businessman Peters.A lot of action happens at night conveniently and lends the film a noir coating that produces a modicum of real menace at times and passes the time in a brisk fashion with a straight-forward denouement and delayed nuptials. The pacing is adequate and does enough to hold your interest. And despite the darkened London landscape and the recurrent 'I say, see here, old boy' type of speech that is strewn throughout the dialog, the film's themes and story line place it neatly into the American style of film noir.Starring Mark Stevens and Jean Kent, the cast includes a sprinkling of well-known British stars - John Bentley, Thora Hird, Sam Kydd, Jack Lambert and Cyril Smith. 6/10.

I've recently managed to get hold of a copy of The Lost Hours and found it quite good.At an RAF reunion, an American pilot drinks a spiked drink and wakes up the following morning with blood on his suit. There was a fight at the party which has killed one of the men and the pilot becomes the chief suspect due to the blood on his suit. He's actually been set up. More murders then take place and as always with these movies, the killer is the least person you would expect...Despite the low budget, The Lost Hours is quite atmospheric at times, especially the night scenes.The cast includes Mark Stevens, Jean Kent (The Haunted Strangler) and John Bentley. The supporting cast includes well known British stars like Duncan Lamont (Frankenstein Created Woman, Quatermass and the Pit), a young Thora Hird (Last Of the Summer Wine) and Sam Kydd (Island of Terror).The Lost Hours is worth watching if you are lucky to catch it.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Having a booze-up with a bunch of his old fly-buddies, former Royal Air Force pilot Mark Stevens, an American, gets into an altercation with one of them who goes out of his way to be insulting. They patch things up, and get on with their drinking. Next morning (or rather afternoon), Stevens wakes up in a strange hotel room only to read the headlines that the other guy has been murdered. But he can't remember a thing, having been slipped a Mickey the night before.This is Cornell Woolrich territory, though he didn't have a thing to do with it. With Scotland Yard on his tail, Stevens races against time to retrace his vanished footsteps and find the real killer. Staunchly by his side is a fiancée Jean Kent; her opposite number is temptress Dianne Foster, available wife of another of the carousers. In his investigations, Stevens finds that some of the wartime heroes have, in the post-war years, taken to less heroic pursuits, running a phony import-export racket his inopportune sleuthing threatens to expose....The Lost Hours (a.k.a. The Big Frame) is little more than a British crime programmer, but it's briskly done and keeps you awake. And despite the London landscape and the recurrent `I say, see here, old boy's that strew the dialog, its themes and story line place it neatly in `The American Style' of film noir.