A gang leader (Richard Attenborough) bumps off a journalist (Reginald Purnell) but finds out there's a witness, a waitress named Rose (Carol Marsh), that can throw off his carefully constructed alibi. He decides to cozy up to the girl, easily winning her over despite pressure from a nosy small-time theater performer named Ida (Hermione Baddeley). Ida had met and liked the dead journalist and didn't believe the suicide story being floated by the cops. She took it upon herself to figure it out, following the breadcrumbs right to Rose and her new beau.
It's so funny to watch old movies and realize that absolutely zero things have changed. All Ida needed was a podcast and she could have been an OG true crime legend.
If you're into noir at all, this should be part of your curriculum. The story is a little underwritten, I think, but the performances are all really solid. It's streaming on Kanopy with a library card, the Criterion Channel until the end of the month, and (sigh) Max. Give it a shot.
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