Murder Most Mediocre
At a London club journalist Gary Bax (Anthony Dawson) is murdered in a case of poisoning. American journalist Joe Saunders (Jeff Morrow) is given the job of reporting on Bax's murder which is made all the more complicated when Joe's wife Peggy (Hazel Court) admits she is a suspect as she used to be Bax's lover and he held some incriminating letters which she wrote. With the police also looking to question Peggy it is up to Saunders to question all the guests at the club on the night of Bax's death all of which seem to have a reason why they might like to see Bax dead including club owner Albert Mayne (Lionel Jeffries).
When you watch and review as many movies as I do you find yourself wading through a lot of okay but uninspiring movies which fail to do anything other than fill up 90 minutes of your time. That is how I feel about "Hour of Decision" a 1950s thriller which after you've finished watching quickly blurs into the collective of text book thrillers which were made during the 50s. And if you think I am being unfair let me just tell you now that "Hour of Decision" culminates in an Agatha Christie style climax where Joe and the detective end up in a room with all the suspects describing what happened till they have eliminated all but the killer.
But before you get to the ending there is more unforgettable cliches which fills up the rest of "Hour of Decision" from the journalist who is loathed by many because of what he knows about them to the numerous people in the club who could have reason for having him killed. There is also the huge coincidence of Joe being married to main suspect Peggy and getting to do a story on the murder for his paper. I could continue as the cliches run thick and fast just as the styling which alongside the sudden dramatic music swells features a detective who dresses more like New York heavy crossed with a theatre lovie with his striking scarf.
What this all boils down to is that "Hour of Decision" ends up just another 50s thriller which has nothing about it to make it stand out from the crowd. But with a cast which features Hazel Court and Lionel Jeffries is an okay way to pass 80 minutes on a dull afternoon.
