Tue 14 Jun 2022
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE SECRET PARTNER (1961).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[6] Comments
THE SECRET PARTNER. MGM, UK/US, 1961. Stewart Granger, Haya Harareet, Bernard Lee, Hugh Burden, Lee Montague, Norman Bird. Director: Basil Dearden.
The Secret Partner is one of those films where the entire story hinges on the big reveal at the end. Just who is the “secret partner†in the criminal scheme that forms the basis for the film’s plot? There is, of course, more than one red herring; the viewer is supposed to be suspicious, wondering whether that man or that guy is the masked villain.
The problem with films like these, it hardly needs to be pointed out, is that once you see the ending, you realize a good part of what makes the film work (or not, depending on your perspective) was the guess work you put in throughout the proceedings and how much you think it was worth your time.
The story is one of blackmail, deceit, and criminality. Stewart Granger portrays John Brent, a shipping company executive who has a secret. He’s living under an assumed name, because he has a criminal past, having served time in prison for embezzlement. But that’s not his main problem right now. Not only has his wife (Israeli actress Haya Harakeet) left him, but he’s being blackmailed by his dentist (Norman Bird), a seedy little man whose avarice outweighs his common sense.
Enter the secret partner, a masked man using a voice distortion device. He comes into the dentist’s office with a proposition: when Brent is under the gas for a tooth removal, the dentist is to make a clay impression of his keys and to get the combination to the shipping company’s safe. It’s ludicrous, but it works in a quirky, offbeat sort of way.
Soon enough, the shipping company’s safe has been looted and Brent (Granger) is the top suspect. Thus begins his very noir journey – a falsely accused man seeking the “secret partner†to clear his name. Who can it be? Is it his colleague at the office? The doctor quietly from a distance in love with his estranged wife? Or the hipster interior designer who is having an affair with her? It’s up to Detective Superintendent Hanbury (Bernard Lee) to investigate. It is – using an all too familiar trope – his last case and he intends to do it justice.
What I appreciated about The Secret Partner was not so much the plot – although it’s perfectly fine – but the atmosphere. Although it’s rather talky for a film noir, it has its share of noirish moments, even those fleeting ones that are enough to make a visual impact. The film is buttressed with an early 1960s jazzy score, one that works because is not too intrusive. Directed by Basil Dearden, it has a very London feel to it. The city is a character.
In sum, The Secret Partner is a solid crime film, but it’s not exceptional. After you see the big reveal, it’s difficult to want to put in the effort to watch it again. But I enjoyed well enough it for what it was, flaws and all.
June 14th, 2022 at 7:48 pm
Agreed, I liked it better than it deserved probably for the same reasons Jonathan enumerates as well as Granger’s performance.
Nothing brilliant, but I didn’t want to throw anything at the screen when it was over either.
June 14th, 2022 at 8:23 pm
I’ve not seen it, and I’m tempted to find a copy, but at the moment I’m trying to save money, not spend it as freely as I used to. The movie is out on DVD from Warner Archives, for example, which explains why I couldn’t find a free version on YouTube.
June 14th, 2022 at 9:45 pm
David has touched on it; The Secret Partner is about Stewart Granger, the actor, not the character as written. I like him, so the film is fine, and the so-called trick ending means little or nothing. This is genuine movie star stuff, which does not really exist any longer for all kinds of idiotic societal reasons. And I include as non-star,
Tom Cruise. Jack Nicholson was the last.
June 14th, 2022 at 10:05 pm
Secret Partner should not be thought of as noir, it is a mystery. Cesa.
June 23rd, 2022 at 9:00 pm
Hi! How are all of you? Me fair. The film is available at ok.ru at: https://ok.ru/video/1029322705588 Hope and pray that All of You are fine and safe. Love You All. Take care and be safe and God bless. Enjoy it free of charge.
June 24th, 2022 at 9:25 am
Thanks, Serge, but let me add a caution that sites whose URL’s end in ru (Russia) are prone to spyware and other bad things. (I’m not saying this one is, only to be careful.)