YOUR PAST IS SHOWING (1957)

In London, we see a string of visits by magazine editor Nigel Dennis to prominent persons. He threatens to expose their secrets in his magazine The Naked Truth unless they pay him blackmail money. Some do, some commit suicide, and at at least one, a member of Parliament, has a panic attack in public. We then see, in more detail, Dennis approach four other celebrities: Wee Sonny MacGregor (Peter Sellers), a simpering family-friendly impressionist and TV host; the married womanizer Lord Mayley (Terry-Thomas); mystery author Flora Ransom (Peggy Mount); and sexy model Melissa Right (Shirley Eaton). Individually, the four try to find ways to silence Dennis including sabotaging his houseboat, blowing up his car, and poisoning him with a knockout drug. Nothing works but the four wind up together at Flora's apartment. When Sonny says, "We've been killing ourselves trying to murder him," they decide to work together and, because they were able to steal his secret documents, they come up with a plan that ends up involving all the potential blackmail victims. This seems like an early entry in the black comedy genre—we see one successful suicide and one possible death at the climax—with some similarities to something like A Fish Called Wanda. The funniest bits, however, involve exaggerated performance and occasional slapstick antics. Sellers, using his talent for multiple personas, is the standout, particularly in the opening scenes of him on TV as Wee Sonny. Terry-Thomas is amusing as well doing his twit shtick. I was unfamiliar with Peggy Mount but she's quite funny as a hyperactive Miss Marple type, especially in her early suicide attempt when she jumps from her apartment window but is saved by a shop awning. Shirley Eaton (the golden girl in Goldfinger) has less to do but is quite appealing. Dennis Prince as the publisher is less obviously funny but he has his moments. Joan Sims (Flora's daughter) and Georgina Cookson (Mayley's put-upon wife) are good, and Kenneth Griffith shines in a smaller role as Porter, Wee Sonny's manager (and roommate, and possibly lover in what struck me as a heavily gay-coded relationship). At 90 minutes, it runs out of steam, and the finale is quite strange, as though the filmmakers couldn't quite decide how to end it. It's the most improbable part of the story though I ended up liking it. If you can deal with dark whimsey, this is for you. Original British title: THE NAKED TRUTH. Pictured at left, from left: Sellers, Price, Terry-Thomas, Mount, unidentified player. [TCM]