B&W, 1958, 89 mins. 22 secs.
Directed by John Gilling
Starring Jack Palance, Anita Ekberg, Nigel Patrick, Bonar Colleano, Anthony Newley, Sean Kelly, Donald Pleasence, Eric Pohlmann, Gerard Heinz, Walter Gotell
Indicator (Blu-ray) (UK RB HD) / WS (2.35:1) (16:9)

A fascinating roster of The Man Insidetalent collides in this often overlooked late '50s crime thriller, one of several made by Warwick Film Productions with The Man Insideinternational distribution handled by Columbia Pictures thanks to anchoring the production with at least one notable Hollywood actor. In this case you get Jack Palance (stepping in for the originally announced Alan Ladd) in the sole screen incarnation of intrepid insurance investigator Milo March created by novelist M.E. Chaber (the jokey pen name for Kendell Foster Crossen). In this case the globe-trotting adventure also ropes in Swedish sensation Anita Ekberg (pre-La Dolce Vita), then under contract to Warwick owners and this film's producers, Irwin Allen and future James Bond guru Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli who later worked her in prominently in From Russia with Love.

Here Milo March is on the trail of Sam Carter (Tales from the Crypt's Patrick), whose work at a New York City jewelry firm inspires him to execute a long-gestating robbery plan including an unplanned murder in an elevator. A manhunt soon begins as Carter goes on a murderous, cash-spending spree across Europe with several folks after his most valuable diamond, the Tyranha Blue. Along for the escapades are the ambiguous Trudie Hall (Ekberg), a jewel The Man Insidehunter The Man Insidefirst spied in Carter's apartment, and a pair of dogged thieves (Colleano and Heiniz) plus a young Anthony Newley as a Spanish cabbie and a short-lived Donald Pleasence as a Portuguese organ grinder who nearly gets upstaged by his monkey.

Bond fans will find a lot to enjoy here with Dr. No not too far off on the horizon including the presence of busy 007 screenwriter Richard Maibaum handling writing duties here plus Blofeld voice Eric Pohlmann and recurring multi-Bond film actor Walter Gotell getting small but potent parts. (Of course, Pleasence would also become the first facially visible Blofeld in You Only Live Twice almost a decade later.) The crisp, no-fuss direction here was handled by John Gilling, best known to Hammer fans for The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile as well as The Flesh and the Fiends and The Shadow of the Cat. He mainly gets to show off during the final twisty act set on a nocturnal train ride, which has a little bit of proto-From Russia with Love flavor.

This film hasn't had the greatest reputation thanks to very poor quality copies floating around, but the 2026 Blu-ray from Indicator helps matter considerably with a sharp, The Man Insideperfectly framed Blu-ray presentation with a typically nice master provided by Sony. The fairly thick film grain is left intact here looking The Man Insidedetailed and natural, and the LPCM 1.0 English mono audio is also pristine with new English SDH subtitles provided. A new audio commentary by Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman is informative and lively as always as they cover the literary source character, the cinematic sleight of hand used to create a wide variety of locations, Gilling's career, the numerous notable bit actors floating around, and much more. In "Slam-Bang Entertainment" (10m23s), Vic Pratt covers the history of Warwick and its founders including their A-list talent roster, their early adoption of CinemaScope for maximum production value, and the "men's film" attitude that drove many of their productions. A 69-image gallery of stills and promotional material is also included, and the limited edition comes with a 36-page booklet featuring a new essay by Steve Chibnall singling out the contributions of cinematographer Ted Moore (with Nicolas Roeg among the crew) and charting the film's production history in London and Spain (with a little bit in New York), plus collections of archival articles on Warwick Film and Jack Palance, a "Warwick's Adventures in Economy" magazine story about the company from 1956, and a sample of press and biographical snippets about Palance.

Reviewed on March 23, 2026