MEET MR. CALLAGHAN (1954)

In the opening shot, the only exciting scene in this whole movie, a man at a desk looks at the camera, says, "No, don't!" and is shot dead.  The man, Meraulton, has four nephews and a step-daughter, Cynthis, who is about to marry William, one of the nephews.  She knows that the old man had just written a new will naming her as his heir, and she comes to private investigator Callaghan (Derrick De Morney), knowing that she herself is a prime suspect in the murder; Callaghan, on the verge of getting thrown out of his office for not paying rent, agrees to take her case.  While visiting the nephews, he soon discovers they were all in on a scam involving draining the old man’s money through the setting up of fake companies.  Callaghan has to juggle Cynthis, the police, and the nephews as he figures out where the will is and who the murderer is.  This British B-film has several strikes against it in my book.  First, De Morney is bland, uncharismatic, and unattractive.  Second, so is most of the rest of the cast.  Third, most of the movie consists of dialogue scenes in which two actors lay out the necessary exposition with little or no action or visual flair, though the physical look of the movie (sets, photography) are adequate.  A scene in a mortuary is rather fun, and an encounter in a nightclub with Adrienne Corri works up some pizzazz, but otherwise, this is a dull affair.  The jaunty theme music, though catchy, is a little out of place.  The character of Slim Callaghan was the hero of a series of mystery novels by Peter Cheyney.  [DVD]