Chillichap's Review - A Matter of Who 1961 British Comedy Movie Starring Terry Thomas - A Film I've Just Watched

 Hello!

Another film popped up on YouTube, this time an old black and white one starring the best British cads of all time Terry Thomas. 


The Film starts with a passenger on a plane having one drink too many and becoming ill. Archibald Bannister (played by Terry Thomas) is the airport detective working for the World Health Organisation (which is where the title of the film comes from) who specializes in tracking down infectious diseases and their origins. Kennedy (played by Alex Nicol), a partner of the ill man is waiting for Cooper. Alex is a shrewd American who won't take no for an answer as to what's going on. Two of my favourite actors appear quite early-Honor Blackman who plays Sister Bryan, the airport nurse, and Richard Briers (who receives an introducing credit), who plays Jamieson-Bannister's assistant. 

There's a bit of a flap on when it's discovered the patient has smallpox. Bannister and Jamieson gatecrash a party to vaccinate the partygoers against smallpox. There's a subplot to do with oil and a Russian oil barron Ivanovich (played by Guy Deghy) is definitely up to something and Bannister suspects foul play. Bannister's investigations take him all over the world and he even breaks the law to solve the case.

There's a killer line 'If this caper comes off, I hope you're the Bannister that runs the four-minute mile' - a delightful nod to Roger Bannister the athlete who broke the fabled 4-minute mile in 1954.

There are lots of plot twists. I'm not going to ruin the film by revealing the ending for you. Terry Thomas is delightful in this role where he actually plays a good guy. Bannister's character is stoically British and never gives up. If you're a fan of Terry Thomas, this is a must-see film.


Thanks for reading

Matt AKA Chillichap

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