''A Woman of Mystery'' is a 1958 British

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Ernest Morris Ernest Morris (1913–1987) was an English film director. Selected filmography * ''Three Crooked Men'' (1958) * ''Night Train for Inverness'' (1960) * ''The Court Martial of Major Keller'' (1961) * ''Three Spare Wives'' (1962) * ''What Every Wo ...

and starring

Dermot Walsh Dermot Walsh (10 September 1924 – 26 June 2002) was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series '' ''Richard the Lionheart'. Early life Born in Dublin, Walsh was t ...

Hazel Court Hazel Court (10 February 1926 – 15 April 2008) was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) and ...

, and

Ferdy Mayne Ferdy Mayne (or Ferdie Mayne) (born Ferdinand Philip Mayer-Horckel; 11 March 1916 – 30 January 1998) was a German-British stage and screen actor. Born in Mainz, he emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1930s to escape the Nazi regi ...

. The film features an early performance from

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

in an uncredited role.

Plot

Ray Savage, reporter for a sensational magazine in London is assigned over his objections to investigate a pretty blonde hat-check attendant's suicide. Inquiring at Jane Hale's place of work he learns that someone from her past had recognized her, and she was afraid. Finding a luggage label on her suitcase, he follows the lead to a dubious hotel where the manager tells him someone had taken a shot at her while she was staying there. From there he goes to her former place of work, then to the home of her friend at work who tells him that Miss Hale regularly called her mother, long distance. Following the number to a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

where questioning Mrs. Hale yields nothing, but the cooperative administrator tells him the upscale neighborhood Jane was living before she went on the run. Finally determining that she had been employed at an

escort agency An escort agency is a company that provides escorts for clients, usually for sexual services. The agency typically arranges a meeting between one of its escorts and the client at the customer's house or hotel room (outcall), or at the escort's ...

, he is so excited as to ignore the indications that he is being followed until he returns home to be attacked by three men who try to duplicate Miss Hale's supposed suicide by knocking him on the head and turning the gas on. Rescued by his girlfriend he grabs a gun and starts taking up housebreaking, until he determines the escort agency is cover for a

counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

operation. Then he shoots it out with the villains but feels frustrated because the mastermind behind the operation, the man who killed Jane, has apparently gotten away unseen. That doesn't last, because Jane's new boyfriend comes after Ray to try to kill him and Jane's friend who came to talk to Ray.

Cast

as Ray Savage *

as Joy Grant *

Jennifer Jayne Jennifer Jayne (14 November 1931 – 23 April 2006) was an English film and television actress born in Yorkshire to theatrical parents. Born Jennifer Jayne Jones, she adopted her stage name of Jennifer Jayne to avoid confusion with the Holly ...

as Ruby Ames *

as Andre *

Ernest Clark Ernest Clark (12 February 1912 – 11 November 1994) was a British actor of stage, television and film. Early life Clark was the son of a master builder in Maida Vale, and was educated nearby at St Marylebone Grammar School. After leaving sch ...

as Harvey * Diana Chesney as Mrs. Bassett * Paul Dickson as Winter *

Minor Role (uncredited)

External links

References

1958 films 1958 crime films British black-and-white films British crime films Films shot at New Elstree Studios 1950s English-language films Films directed by Ernest Morris 1950s British films {{1950s-crime-film-stub