The Teckman Mystery

From pioneering female director Wendy Toye comes this British crime mystery from 1954 in a brand new restoration on Blu-ray. John Justin stars as a novelist whose unexpected commission to write a biography brings him and those around him into mortal danger.

Written by Francis Durbridge and co-written by James Matthews, THE TECKMAN MYSTERY begins rather harmlessly when, during a flight, famous novelist Philip Chance (John Justin) begins a conversation with a young lady who sits right next to him and who just happens to be reading one of his books (talk about being contrived). Curiously not recognising her fellow passenger as the novelist in question, she remarks that his latest book wasn’t as good as his previous one, only to realise her faux-pas minutes later. Amused, Philip replies that his new book won’t be a novel at all but a biography about Martin Teckman, a young pilot who died during a test flight though his death has been surrounded by all sorts of rumours ever since. To his surprise, the woman introduces herself as Helen Teckman, Martin’s sister (talk about contrived again), and the two agree to keep in touch after the plane lands at London airport. Some time later, when Philip asks his agent Maurice Miller (Raymond Huntley) what is so special about the Martin Teckman case, more and more rumours gradually emerge, for example that Teckman, who went on a flight to test a new model called F109, may not have crashed the machine at all and instead landed in a foreign country while bits from the apparent plane wreckage were planted and weren’t part of the F109. Still unsure whether to accept the commission as writing biographies doesn’t really interest him, Philip is initially relieved when his agent tells him that another writer had already agreed to write the biography but some days ago she had been knocked over by a car and is expected to remain in hospital for many weeks to come. Hence, the new ‘candidate’ for the project is Philip who reluctantly agrees to write the biography. If only he hadn’t…

Coming back from dinner with Helen (who seems to have no idea either as to what happened to her brother and – like most others – believes he died years ago during that test flight) Philip finds his flat has been burgled… why? Enter Inspector Harris (Roland Culver) and Inspector Hilton (Duncan Lamont) who look upon the break-in as a routine case but when Philip returns to his place from a meeting some days later he finds a dead body on the floor – it is a man with whom Philip had met earlier during his research for the planned book. As the case looks ever more complex and mysterious, the body count keeps rising and Philip finds himself in a net of intrigue and surrounded by people who seem to know more about Teckman than they care to let on… Even a flight to Berlin which had been booked for Philip arouses Inspector Harris’ suspicions when the reference number on the letter which Philip received from the man who organised the trip turns out to be Ref F109 – something that Philip, an author no less, hadn’t noticed at all! Certain that things won’t go well in Berlin, Philip decides against going though he grows increasingly nervous, after all, he couldbe the next victim though he doesn’t even know why. At least his friendship with Helen Teckman seems to be blossoming into romance. The plot thickens when Martin Teckman ((Michael Medwin) turns up very much alive, albeit in a highly paranoid state. Just as Philip has arranged a meeting between him, Teckman and his agent Maurice (who knows Teckman through his time in the RAF), Teckman does a runner… Adding further to the mystery, both Philip and Helen receive an invite from a woman called Ruth Wade (Jane Wenham) though neither is aware of the other’s invitation. Initially suspicious of Ruth, Philip is perplexed when she reveals that she is in fact Martin Teckman’s wife but has no idea what became of him since the crash. When Philip reveals that Teckman has turned up in London, Ruth is just as perplexed because her husband chose to get in touch with his sister Helen (who claims she has no idea her brother is married) and not with her.

From that point onward, things get more and more convoluted and Philip finds himself trapped even further in the net surrounded by people who may or may not be who they claim to be… The climax, although tense, remains somewhat unsatisfactory as there are quite a few loose ends and things are never fully explained. That said, this may have something to do with the fact that The Teckman Mystery was originally written by Francis Durbridge as a six-part TV-series – obviously, quite a few elements had to be shortened or taken out altogether for Wendy Toye’s 90 minute film version. It’s also quite wordy (with a lot of scenes set indoors) and could do with a bit more action – at times it almost feels like a stage play. John Justin and a frightfully slim Margaret Leighton are worthy leads amply supported by Raymond Huntley, Roland Culver and Duncan Lamont while Michael Medwin makes up for his relatively short screen time with an intense performance.

Bonus features include two short films by Wendy Toye, namely the rarely seen Cannes prize-winning THE STRANGER LEFT NO CARD (1952) with Alan Badel as a flamboyantly dressed and highly eccentric magician who one day arrives in a small town to the amusement of the locals and introduces himself as ‘Napoleon Bonaparte’. Little do they know that he has something much more sinister up his sleeve than just his magic tricks…
The second short is the whimsical ON THE TWELFTH DAY… (1955) in which an Edwardian lady’s daily routine is increasingly disrupted when her Truelove bestows her with all sorts of gifts from the famous song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ including partridges in a pear tree, French hens, five golden rings, six geese a-laying, four calling birds and two turtle doves. At the end, the lady (played by Wendy Toye) and her Truelove (David O’Brien) make off in a hot air balloon while the household erupts into utter chaos and the long-suffering butler finally packs his meagre belongings – only to get knocked to the ground by one of the sandbags from the balloon.

Also among the bonus feature is ‘The Extraordinary Career of Wendy Toye Part 1’ featuring interviews with BFI film historian Dr. Josephine Botting and film critic Pamela Hutchinson.