Serena

"Serena" is one of those films that, after I've watched it, I reflect back on the plot, wonder how convincing it all was, and debate whether to watch the film again to check! Certainly I had to think back about some of the scenes, but my eventual judgement was that it was all reasonably coherent.

Unusually (as a fan of postwar B films shot in and around London), I failed to recognise many of the supporting cast, with the exception of Peter Glaze as the station clerk at Victoria. (He went on to co-host "Crackerjack", a popular TV programme of my childhood.)

Honor Blackman's star potential was very evident, and Patrick Holt made a reasonable police inspector. The acting of several others was poor - in particular I was surprised to see that John Horsley, as the family solicitor, was an established actor, so amateurish were his reactions when he was being questioned. The trailing of Ann Rogers after she'd left the church looked very clumsy.

I was a little surprised to see that the film lasted only an hour - it seemed longer. Overall, it was very acceptable.