Walk A Tightrope (1964)

A man (Dan Duryea) breaks into a recently married couple's home and kills the husband (Terence Cooper, 1967's CASINO ROYALE) and demands payment from the wife (Patricia Owens, THE FLY) for killing him. He flees but when he's arrested, he insists he was hired by the wife to kill her husband which she vehemently denies. Is the man an unbalanced stalker? Is the wife a diabolical double crosser? Or is there perhaps more to the story than first meets the eye. This little "B" movie from Great Britain has an intriguing premise but the writing is so stilted and simplistic that it plays out like an above average offering from an ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS or THRILLER episode. Duryea's character is ill conceived but he plays him to the hilt while Owens is suitably "did she or didn't she" ambiguous so we're not really sure what's going through her head. The revelation is clever and satisfactory but the amateurish acting of David Bauer near ruins it. Directed by Frank Nesbitt. With Richard Leech and Shirley Cameron as Duryea's girlfriend and the most sympathetic character in the film.