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Flamboyant of character and little less than a literary phenomenon, Edgar
Wallace was an incredibly speedy, prolific and popular writer, notching up over
170 novels (as well as numerous plays, screenplays and newspaper articles)
before his death, while in Hollywood he worked on the scenario for King Kong
(1933). His works inspired numerous film adaptations in the decades afterwards.
In 1960 Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, managing directors of Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors, acquired the rights to the whole of the Wallace library and
production of a lengthy series of hour-long supporting features began, shot at
Merton Park studios, usually under the supervision of experienced producer Jack
Greenwood. The sixteenth film in the series was Flat Two (1962), an updated
version of Wallace's murder mystery novel of the same name, penned in 1924.
By now, the formula was well established. Like other directors on the Wallace
series, Alan Cooke had previously worked in television, and was used to working
quickly and economically. He had overseen numerous episodes of Armchair Theatre
(ITV, 1956-68). Later he would move on to The Wednesday Play (BBC, 1964-70) and
Play for Today (BBC, 1970-84), before eventually journeying to the US, where his
experience on Flat Two may have come in handy when he directed episodes of The Father Dowling Mysteries (NBC/ABC, 1989-91).
Writer Lindsay Galloway had also worked extensively in television, penning episodes of William
Tell (ITV, 1958-59) as well as The Four Just Men (ATV, 1959-60), a series based
on one of Wallace's most famous novels. He manages to hide Flat Two's venerable
origins, but struggles to cram the sometimes cumbersome twists and turns of the
whodunit plot into the brief running time. However, the film is always kept
afloat thanks to a customarily smooth and effective performance by John Le
Mesurier, excellently cast as a debonair but slightly shifty barrister.
Critical opinion was mixed. The Monthly Film Bulletin was unimpressed,
complaining that "the improbable plot depends far too much on verbal
explanations", though one wonders what a whodunit might otherwise be expected to
depend upon. Kine Weekly, by way of contrast, considered it "first rate", and
praised its "showmanlike" twist ending, enthusing that "the principal characters
are boldly drawn and expertly shuffled, but the trump card comes legitimately
from under the table."
Vic Pratt
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