Mon 10 Jul 2017
A Movie Review by David Vineyard: A MATTER OF WHO (1961).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[10] Comments
A MATTER OF WHO. MGM, UK, 1961; US, 1962. Terry-Thomas, Sonja Zeimann, Alex Nichol, Richard Briers (debut), Honor Blackman, Carol White, Guy Deghy, Martin Benson, Geoffrey Keen. Screenplay by Milton Homes & Patricia Lee, based on her article with Paul Dickinson. Directed by Don Chaffey.
This unlikely comedy-mystery builds up real suspense with Terry-Thomas playing mostly straight as an eccentric British ‘germ’ detective for WHO, the World Health Organization.
It begins innocently enough with an American businessman apparently succumbing to too much alcohol on his honeymoon flight to London. Taken to the hospital at Heathrow until the cause of his condition can be determined, his new bride (Sonja Zeimann) and business partner, a fellow Texas oilman (Alex Nichol), meet each other and Archibald Bannister (Terry-Thomas) a representative of WHO while waiting for news of the ailing man.
When it turns out smallpox and not alcohol is the cause of the ailing oilman’s ill turn, the international WHO organization is mobilized, with British representative Bannister and his assistant (Richard Briers, best remembered for the series Good Neighbors, making his film debut) out to find where the victim acquired the disease and using every means at their disposal to do it.
That proves more than a little dangerous for both Bannister and the victim’s business partner, as international politics, skullduggery in the cutthroat oil business, the mysterious new bride who knows something she won’t tell, a smuggled dog, a kidnapped corpse, a remote Austrian village stricken with a smallpox epidemic, Bannister a fugitive from the law, and a shady international playboy are all added to the mix until the climax in an Austrian cable car.
The mystery is excellent, the twists frequent, the heroes meet numerous setbacks, and the comedy is generally played quietly arising from the situation and the people in it and not contrived silliness (there is a contrived car chase).
Other than his bad driving, clothes, and car, Bannister is presented as a good man who knows his job and does it with rare skill. You likely haven’t seen Thomas like this in a film, and may, like me, be a little surprised how well he handles the role without resorting to his usual schtick.
This one works fully on all levels. It is sexy and smart, sharply written and played, well directed by Don Chaffey, and both the mystery and suspense well served, both they and the clues arising from the nature of the real criminal, the disease smallpox, and its nature and behavior. And don’t assume you have out-guessed it or Bannister, as both have surprises up their sleeves right to the end.
I spent a long time looking for this one, and I’m pleased to say than other than the theme song, it was no disappointment. A Matter of WHO is a fine little film with a first class cast and more than enough to keep you glued to your seat until the last clue is sorted.
July 11th, 2017 at 3:58 am
I seem to recall this was released here sometime during the Bond craze, promoted as yet another spy spoof and largely ignored.
July 11th, 2017 at 10:46 am
I may be wrong about this, but I don’t think Terry-Thomas ever caught on all that well in this country.
July 11th, 2017 at 12:22 pm
DVD is $9 at Amazon. Stream the video at Amazon for $2!
I loved Terry-Thomas growing up. They used to have $1 matinees during the summer, and we saw Those Daring Young Men In There Flying Machines, etc.
July 11th, 2017 at 4:25 pm
He was terrific in “Bachelor Flat”, a guilty pleasure of mine. Even Richard Beymer was pretty good. And Tuesday Weld, as Terry-Thomas’ g.f.’s daughter plays Terry-Thomas for all he’s worth (he doesn’t know Weld is his g.f.’s daughter) as a pretend juvenile delinquent. Weld is to me one of the unfortunately overlooked and underappreciated actresses of her generation.
Anyway, yes, Terry-Thomas never broke through in the U.S. as he deserved to.
July 11th, 2017 at 7:59 pm
Re “Bachelor Flat”: forgot to mention that Frank Taslin directed it…
July 12th, 2017 at 12:24 am
Thomas was mostly cast as the ‘cad’ and best known to American audiences for films like THOSE DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES, TOM THUMB, MONTE CARLO OR BUST, HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE, and decidedly British comedies like the caper film MAKE MINE MINK and with Ian Carmichael and Alistair Sim in SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS.
He appeared on American television mostly as a guest star on variety series, but never graduated beyond a familiar face, bowler hat, and gap toothed sort though he was certainly the model for Snidely Whiplash. He is likely best recalled today other than the big films I mention for his role in THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES.
Dan,
WHO is in no way related to the Bond films or the Bond craze. DR. NO got a tremendous boost from coming out October 1962 in England but not until May 63 here. A Matter of WHO debuted in England in 1961 and opened here in July 1962 nearly a year before Bond and several months before the British release of DR. NO.
The first Bond spoof was Bob Hope’s CALL ME BWANA (even referenced in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE) which came out in June 1963. Over the years WHO has acquired a good reputation, and comes much closer to playing like an episode of THE AVENGERS than anything Bondian. Audiences just didn’t know what to make of a straight Terry-Thomas in a film that is only secondarily a comedy I suspect.
For anyone wanting a free look it is currently available in a decent print on YouTube after being neglected too long.
July 12th, 2017 at 12:42 am
And just to give Terry-Thomas his due, his credits include WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT with Doris Day, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM. episodes of MAN FROM UNCLE and BURKE’s LAW, IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD, Disney’s ROBIN HOOD (Sir Hiss), A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN, MUNSTER GO HOME, DON”T RAISE THE BRIDGE LOWER THE RIVER, and MOUSE ON THE MOON …
He was a star in American films before Peter Sellars who made his big breakthrough with the PINK PANTHER despite his tour de force in THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, and one of the more recognizable and successful British comedy stars in the US, a name long before many others since TOM THUMB did for him what it did not do for Sellars and DARING YOUNG MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES made him a well known face in American film while Sellars was still struggling to break out of British films.
July 12th, 2017 at 1:31 am
I don’t know how reliable these sorts of things are, but I’ve read that in the ’70s he was voted as the most recognisable Englishman by American viewers. It always interests me that his screen persona is probably seen in a diffrent light in the UK than in the US. In the US he is just the posh Brit, whereas in this country he is sort of ‘fake posh’. His character wears flashy clothes, is to well groomed, has the most expensive car. He shows that most wonderfully in SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS.
September 7th, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Liked the movie even though I thought the tone wildly uneven. Saw it for free on youtube. Does anyone know who sang the weird title song?
March 19th, 2020 at 5:19 pm
I discovered this film purely by accident. I love the old British comedy films. What I found ironic is that I watched it on March 19, 2020. The world is in the throws of the deadly COVID-19 virus! My thoughts were all over the place. I venture I would have viewed the film differently under normal conditions. It is a really good film. I enjoyed it! I love your review!