GIRL IN THE HEADLINES (1963)

At the opening, we seem to be witnessing a fashion shoot of a sexy female model asleep in a chair, but actually it's a crime scene: the girl, Ursula, was shot dead in her apartment and the police are taking photos. Leading the investigation are Inspector Birkett and Sgt. Saunders. The only clues found at the apartment are the gun, hidden in the toilet tank, and a ball point pen found outside. Because of an annoying barking dog upstairs, the two interview her neighbor, a popular TV actor named David Dane whom Birkett suspects of being gay. Other persons of interest include Ursula's mother, Mrs. Gray, who has been more or less estranged from her daughter ever since Ursula had an abortion in her teen years; Perlita, another model; Perlita's husband Hammond and his brother Jordan who have some shady connections about town. Clues lead the cops to a gambling club called Blakeney's where an older woman named Lavalle, a former opera singer (of whom Birkett is a fan), is glimpsed looking ashamed to be seen there. I took lots of plot summary notes but they don't really need to be summarized here except to note that, before all is said and done, there is a visit to a rather sad little gay bar where another murder occurs, some blackmail attempts, and the discovery of a drug smuggling ring. Most of these wind up being red herrings, and the final solution to the reason behind the murder of Ursula is a true surprise.

The word that comes to my mind in thinking about this British mystery film is “likable.” Despite the fairly sordid circumstances in which most of the characters are engaged (and, despite the American title, The Model Murder Case, Ursula is more known as a high class call girl than a model), this is a briskly paced, if somewhat cluttered, cop movie, and the two cops are the main draw here. Ian Hendry, as Birkett, is excellent as a good-natured and thoughtful family man (a young Jane Asher plays his daughter). He shares, with the film, a slight homophobic bent; when Birkett's wife wonders if David Dane might have wanted to marry Ursula, he replies that "Dane might like to be married to me." The scene in the gay bar ends with all the patrons getting arrested despite the fact that absolutely nothing untoward was going on. Of course, it’s worth remembering that homosexual acts were still illegal in Britain until 1967. Before his looks got thick and craggy, apparently from alcoholism, Hendry was a handsome man and he commands the screen well. His sidekick Saunders is played by Ronald Fraser who, with his beefy face and squinty eyes, might have been pegged as comic relief; though he does a bit of that here, he's mostly taken seriously and is respected by Birkett. The two have a great bantering chemistry and I would love to have seen them reprise their roles. Jeremy Brett, later famous as Sherlock Holmes on British television, is almost shockingly handsome as Jordan; Peter Arne plays his brother. Margaret Johnston, memorable in BURN, WITCH, BURN, has a couple of good moments as Ursula's mother, and James Villiers, who often played snooty types, is David Dane. The actress who plays Ursula, only seen as a corpse in the first few minutes, is uncredited and no one seems to have figured out who she was. Plot strands multiply though it all remains mostly easy to follow, and, somewhat oddly, as the movie features more action in its last twenty minutes, it also slows down a bit. Still, this is a delightful find. Pictured are Hendry and Fraser. [YouTube]