Flash Sheridan
I agree with most of the other reviewers on how stylishly this film is acted and directed. But the (predictable spoiler warning) misleading coincidences leading to the false accusation are too unlikely to be believable; I'm afraid the protagonist must have been guilty. And the further coincidences leading to the supposed bad guy are so implausible, and the obstacles facing the intrepid but dim heroine so preposterously handled, that suspension of belief is impossible.
MartinHafer
If you are watching a mystery or suspense film, the most important element is the finale--the portion where you learn the truth. Unfortunately, the picture falls apart a bit there...just a bit.When the film begins, a man's old girlfriend shows up years later. By now, he's married and his wife is not exactly thrilled he was talking to this lady. But the husband was innocent of anything...just saying hello to a woman who called to him. Later, at home, the wife continues to pester him about the lady...good-naturedly at first. But when it turns into a nasty row, he leaves. Soon, the husband is getting a head wound sewn up--from the object the wife threw at him during the argument! But his troubles have only just begun, however, as the woman he was talking to at the beginning of the film is dead. Someone murdered her and all the circumstantial evidence points to him! So, it's up to the wife to track down some leads...perhaps she can shed light on what really happened. Unfortunately, she might also find the real murderer...and then what's she to do?!The film was very good and taut. My only problem is that during the big confrontation scene on the train at the end, the woman NEVER yelled for help and knew her life was in danger. Now I have heard British folks are quite polite...but no one is THAT polite! Still, a snappy little film and one worth seeing. Just a shame the end wasn't written a bit more tightly.
howardmorley
I love this period of British films where everyone is relentlessly middle class, even the children who say expressions such as "super" & "wizard" and the women all speak with Celia Johnson like cut glass accents.Indeed I read today (Daily Mail 9/10/14) that this is the accent that the British most trust.Well to this 1947 film.For me Marius Goring was the stand out actor playing the headmaster Sidney Fleming.Another of his menacing roles was in "Highly Dangerous"(1950) as a Balkan police inspector with Margaret Lockwood.Francis L. Sullivan was in his element yet again playing a criminal prosecuting barrister (see him in "Great Expectations" (1946).Sharp eyed viewers may have noticed the uncredited performances of Maurice Denham playing defending counsel and a newsboy at York station played by the future Billy Bunter- (Gerald Campion) on children's 1950s BBC TV.In 1947 all middle class people dressed up to visit the opera/concert/theatre with women in long evening gowns/jewels and the men smartly dressed in dinner suits with bow ties.One of the audience members actually used that theatrical cliché " Darling you were fabulous!" after listening to Greta Gynt (Philippa Shelley) miming to an operatic aria dubbed on by a professional singer.I will say though as an artist that this actress had lovely cheekbones.Huw Williams (father of Simon Williams) in the male lead as the innocent man charged with the strangulation, I always find just adequate.Sorry to damn him with faint praise.Ronald Adam, who often pops up in 1940s films, such as "Green for Danger", played the supposedly deaf detective who became the vital witness Philippa Shelley needed to save her husband.It certainly kept my interest to the end being well scripted and I rated it 7/10.
RogerTheMovieManiac88
As I scrolled down a list of Ronald Neame's movie credits prior to compiling this little review, I was struck again by the unbridled excellence of his filmography. Ebullient successes such as 'Major Barbara' and 'Blithe Spirit' were photographed by him, and he would go on to direct such involving and memorable movies as 'The Man Who Never Was' and 'Gambit'. Having honed his skills behind the camera while working with the cream of British movie-making talent, Neame made the transition to the director's chair in 1947 with 'Take My Life'.And what a brilliant first-up effort it proves to be! This fast-paced and deftly-directed thriller sees Greta Gynt travelling to Scotland in an attempt to clear her husband, Hugh Williams, of the murder of an old flame of his. With Neame directing and Guy Green photographing the movie, it is a real triumph pictorially. As a prestige production of GFD/Cineguild, one would expect the polished feel that is evident. The movie is further elevated, however, by a stylish and imaginative script and uniformly excellent performances. Gynt and Williams offer refreshing sparkle on-screen and imbue their characters with admirable depth. Marius Goring, as the killer, is brooding and calculated and he fills the screen with a sense of foreboding menace. Some of the later suspense-filled scenes in the school call to mind Neame's background in cinematography. Several wonderfully expressionistic scenes are realised as Gynt searches for evidence of the dead girl, and engages in a game of cat-and-mouse with Goring amongst the deserted corridors and rooms of the empty school and then on the train back to England. The sense of moody desperation evoked in the last reel deserves special praise.This confident and consistently exciting thriller shows what a fantastic film-maker Ronald Neame was. He demonstrates a smooth narrative style and expertly ramps up a thrilling level of suspense, despite the fact that the murderer is known to the audience from an early stage. 'Take My Life' is a movie that I wholeheartedly recommend.
AD
