Who was Maddox? (1964)

Another Merton Park Edgar Wallace thriller, this one scripted by Roger Marshall. Who was Maddox? was released in 1964.

Jack Heath (Jack Watling) is a young company director, in the business empire controlled by his uncle, Alec Campbell (Finlay Currie). Uncle Alec is a cantankerous old tyrant and Jack doesn’t get on with him. Jack is married to glamorous ex-fashion model Diane (Suzanne Lloyd).

The Heaths are burgled and valuable jewels belonging to Diane are stolen.

Then late at night Jack gets a telephone call from the police, from an Inspector Maddox, to say that his uncle is dead. He rushes round to the uncle’s house to find the old boy still very much alive.

What’s much more disturbing is that the next day Superintendent Meredith (Bernard Lee) arrives on the doorstep to inform him that his uncle really has been murdered. Unfortunately for Jack the time of death roughly coincides with his late-night visit to Alec Campbell’s house. Since Jack disliked his uncle and since he stands to gain a great deal from the old man’s death (Diane is the heiress to Alec’s fortune) Jack is now the prime suspect for the murder. And he has no viable alibi.

It’s also unfortunate that there is no such person as Inspector Maddox.

There’s an odd thing about that burglary. Some of Diane’s supposedly stolen jewels were offered for sale a day before the robbery.

It turns out that there is a Maddox but he’s not a policeman. He’s a society columnist (played by Richard Gale) who specialises in scandal of a very nasty variety. This Maddox has been blackmailing Diane with nude photos supposedly dating from her modelling days. The photos are faked but given that Jack’s most important client is a church group those photos provide very effective blackmail ammunition. That church group is likely to be only too willing to believe that the photos are real.

We don’t really believe Jack is guilty and it’s fairly evident that Superintendent Meredith is not entirely convinced either. There are other possible suspects.

The main interest is the way the murder and blackmail angles tie together, since obviously there must be some kind of connection.

Bernard Lee could play a policeman in his sleep but he always puts in a solid performance anyway. Superintendent Meredith is a sympathetic policeman. He’s not the type to want to see an innocent man convicted, assuming that Jack is indeed innocent.

Jack Watling is likeable as Jack, a somewhat aimless character who mostly just lets events carry him along. That’s a slight weakness in the script. He’s a hero who doesn’t take an active role in his own story.

Diane is more interesting. She sets up as a possible femme fatale and Suzanne Lloyd has the looks and the personality to carry off such a role. Is she a loyal wife or is she having an affair, or perhaps she has been manoeuvred into something nefarious. Lloyd’s performance is entertaining.

Richard Gale as Maddox is the most colourful character. He’s a real prize swine and he likes being a swine.

Like most of the directors of these Edgar Wallace films Geoffrey Nethercott spent almost his whole career in television. On the evidence of this movie he was at best competent.

Roger Marshall went on to a splendid career in television. This is not one of his best scripts (it doesn’t have quite enough urgency or tension) but it’s effective enough.

As usual Network have provided a fine anamorphic transfer (all these Edgar Wallace movies were shot widescreen) without any extras. There are three movies on this particular disc but since they all have running times of an hour or less that’s not an issue.

Not one of the best movies in the series but decent entertainment.