Enter Inspector Duval ** (1961, Anton Diffring, Diane Hart, Mark Singleton, Patrick Bedford) – Classic Movie Review 13,789

The decently set up 1961 British second feature crime film Enter Inspector Duval stars Anton Diffring as a French policeman brought to London to help his British colleagues crack a theft murder case. 

Director Max Varnel’s decently set up 1961 British second feature crime film Enter Inspector Duval is written by J Henry Piperno, based on an original story by Piperno and Jacques Monteux, and stars Anton Diffring and Diane Hart, along with Mark Singleton, Charles Mitchell, Aiden Grennell, Susan Hallinan, Charles Roberts, Patrick Bedford, Angela McCann, and James Fitzgerald.

German actor Anton Diffring, so often the Nazi in British war films, is oddly cast as a French policeman, Inspector Duval, who is in London and brought in to help his British counterparts (Mark Singleton as Inspector Wilson, Patrick Bedford as Sergeant Hastings) to crack a jewel-thief case. Diffring, complete with ‘French’ accent, adds a little flair to the plodding investigation by London coppers into an heiress’s jewel-thief killer. The socialite was ruthlessly murdered during the jewel theft.

The short (64 minutes) early-60s B-movie film is generally plodding, too, because of the far-fetched yet still unsurprising development of the story and some mediocre performances. It’s a bit too talky but fairly intriguingly complicated in the middle stretch, with some reasonably intriguing characters. Yet the script starts defying logic and credibility, straining audience patience. However it starts promisingly well with the simple but effective break-in jewel theft (the thief has a mask, no gloves and knows the combination of the, alas empty, wall safe) and violent killing of the woman in her bed, and ends well too with the car and bleak countryside chase sequence as the police chase the villain.

So perhaps all’s well enough if it starts well and ends well, and stars stylish Anton Diffring, with Mark Singleton rock solid as Inspector Wilson, and Patrick Bedford good as Sergeant Hastings. Diane Hart is quite bright and feisty as the dead woman’s friend Jackie, who may know too much. Angela McCann has the unenviable role of the victim, Alice Alvarez.

Despite the title, apparently clearly promising an Inspector Duval franchise, no further episodes followed. And, when you see the film, you will know why.

It is filmed at Ardmore Studios, Herbert Road, Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, with some Irish location work, so it never looks like London or England. And you get Irish actors like Aiden Grennell playing English lowlifes unconvincingly, and worse still James Fitzgerald playing the fence Mario.

Running time: 64 minutes.

Release date: 8 January 1961.

Anton Diffring was born Alfred Pollack in Koblenz. His final performance was as a Nazi in the 1988 Doctor Who serial Silver Nemesis. The Silver Nemesis audio commentary suggests that he left Germany in 1936 to escape persecution by the Nazis because of his homosexuality. His father, Solomon Pollack, was a Jewish shop-owner.

Enter Inspector Duval is directed by Max Varnel, runs 64 minutes, is made by Bill and Michael Luckwell Ltd/ Ardmore Studios, is released by Columbia Pictures (UK), is written by J Henry Piperno, is shot in black and white by Stephen Dade, is produced by Bill Luckwell, Michael Luckwell and Jack MacGregor, and is scored by Wilfred Burns.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,789

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