Sorry, this movie sucks

Excellent but underrated film

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

***SPOILERS*** Slow and boring film about a valuable stamp from Barbados that's been faked to look real that leads to a number of people being murdered because of it. It's up to private investigator Tom Martin, Tom Conway, to get to the bottom of this mystery. It's Martin who with the help of his lovable ex convict sidekick Barney Wilson, Michael Balfour, who cracks the case wide open in uncovering who's behind all this shenanigans. There's also pretty Jean Larson,Delphi Lawrence, who ends up becoming Martin's lover only to later end up behind bars in her working for the person who not only ended up murdering two people but implicating her in the killing without Jean even knowing it.Boring as hell with very little to recommend it the film does have a really cool car chase through the English countryside to keep you from falling asleep as well as Berney's wise cracks that's about the best dialog in the entire film. As for the person behind this stamp sham, as well as murders, he's about as obvious as a advance case of the German Measles in being exposed almost as soon as we, and Tom Martin,were introduced to him. Thus taking away all the suspense,if there ever was any, that would keep you watching to find out who exactly did it! The two murders in the film as well as the person who had forged the Barbados stamp almost making the genuine ones, there was only four of them minted, worthless on the open world stamp collectors market.Tom Conway the former Saint of the 1930's and 1940's does is best to stay sober, by then he was suffering from a case of acute alcoholism, and alert in the film and does manage to somehow pull it off. But what Conway and the rest of the cast couldn't do is save the movie which was dead on arrival even before it began rolling. The film "Murder on Approval" got the stamp of disapproval by both the movie critics and movie audience by dying at the box office almost as soon as it opened! And to those involved in the film it couldn't have totally and completely disappeared from the movie going public's memories fast enough!

This is a fairly slow paced but still an OK way to spend an idle hour British crime drama with the American Tom Conway playing the debonair, urbane (what else would Tom Conway play?) private investigator Duke Martin. There is a rather ingenious rare stamp scam at the center of the story and when one of the wealthy collectors realizes he may have been taken, he hires Martin to investigate and off Martin goes to London. The list of suspects is very small so its not hard to figure who dunnit. And that would be okay but the script isn't snappy enough to make up for the lack of suspense. The best thing about the movie was Michael Balfour as the (mostly) reformed crook and Martin's sidekick in London, Barney Wilson. This is an actor I had never heard of but he had quite a screen presence. His comic timing was wonderful and it's a shame he didn't have more screen time in this film. As for Tom Conway - well, he played the Falcon with a different name.

Murder On Approval casts Tom Conway the screen's former Falcon as a private investigator hired by Launce Maraschal an American who got swindled while he was on the other side of the pond. Although Conway says philately is not his specialty he takes the case probably because the considerable retainer of $10,000.00 has something to do with it.The purloined stamp that was being sold from a private collection is only the tip of an iceberg. Conway and his trusty sidekick Michael Balfour get themselves involved in a nice little ongoing fraud involving a purloined rare stamp from Barbadoes from the collection of the late former husband of Grace Arnold. In fact Ms. Arnold is in some considerable danger herself from some who are around here.The film which was shot in Great Britain and released in the USA by RKO has the look and feel of a television pilot. Conway like so many players took to the small screen as the B picture was being phased out of existence. He starred for a few seasons as Inspector Mark Saber on the small screen.Given the budget and limited cast members suspects are not many and in fact it's rather obvious what's going on halfway through the film. Cute racket though.

Bad surprise for me. I expected much more from this British thriller produced by Monty Berman and Robert Baker. Boring, talkative, no real action. The topic is forgettable. Story about investigation around stamps, with a Tom Neal - Georges Sanders' brother - no concerned at all. No suspense, flat ending.British crime films, thrillers, are often like this movie, especially 50's ones. You have to be lucky to catch the good one.I have not seen other films from the director Bernard Knowles, they are not easily available. Perhaps are they better than this one ?But this item would please some users if they may watch it.