Displaying items by tag: Mary Germaine

THE FLOATING DUTCHMAN

UK, 1954, 76 minutes, Black-and-white.

Dermot Walsh, Sidney Tafler, Mary Germaine, Guy Verney.

Directed by Vernon Sewell.

Not essential viewing but a small, entertaining thriller, a supporting feature from the British industry in the mid-1950s. The Floating Dutchman this time is a courier whose body is found in the Thames. Police investigate, second an undercover officer to infiltrate the gang and find the murderer.

Dermot Walsh is fairly stolid as the hero. Sidney Tafler, in many of this kind of film and later television series, is much better, a touch more showy as the owner of a club, organising the diamond trade. There is a touch of romance with a woman who works in the club. There are various underlings with sinister backgrounds. And there is an old diamond jeweller in London, a fence for all the diamonds, ultimately trying to protect himself.

Familiar material but a glance back at British filmmaking in the mid-20^th century.