This was a film I watched on Talking Pictures a couple of days ago and in all fairness, it was very good.

It starred John Bentley as Paul Temple and Dinah Sheridan as Steve – also with Jack Livesey who, although I didn’t realise it was the brother of Roger Livesey. When you look at him, you can see the resemblance

The story took us on a thrilling ride and one where we were trying to guess just what was going on.

Paul Temple’s Triumph was released in 1950 and was the third of the Paul Temple films distributed by Butcher’s Film Service between 1946 and 1952. It was based on Francis Durbridge’s radio serial News of Paul Temple.

This one is a spy thriller. A British atomic scientist, Professor Hardwick, has disappeared. The authorities seem rather unconcerned, something that puzzles Paul Temple. Even his old friend, Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner Sir Graham Forbes (Jack Livesey), doesn’t seem to be taking the matter too seriously. The scientist’s daughter Celia is very worried though and Temple decides it might be worth looking into this affair.

Paul Temple finds himself up against the mysterious and sinister Zed Organisation, an unscrupulous  international freelance spy ring.

He does have a few clues. There’s a torn fragment of a map and there’s a letter. He has no idea what is in this letter but everyone seems to want to get hold of it so clearly it’s important. Important enough to kill for, as it turns out.

There are quite a few suspicious foreigners lurking about and there’s at least one glamorous and dangerous female spy.

There are thrills aplenty, with booby traps and secret passageways and some impressively imaginative techniques for murder.

As usual Paul Temple gets some useful assistance from his resourceful wife Steve who doesn’t mind putting herself in danger which she certainly does here

John Bentley played Paul Temple in three of the four adaptations.

In the middle of these four films, he played The Toff in a couple of films in 1952 – in many ways a similar role. Those were good films too.

Dinah Sheridan played Steve in two of the films and she fits the part very well indeed. In the other films Patricia Dainton took the role as Steve.

There are plenty of villains and other shady characters and the villains are menacing.

Director Maclean Rogers keeps things moving at a cracking pace and gives a genuine sense of danger to the proceedings.

The spy plot works well. The top-secret project that the missing professor was working on is pretty much a standard spy film but that is pretty much the norm for such a spy thriller. We never know much if anything about the invention but wee do know that some people will kill to get their hands on it.

Paul Temple is a very happily married man so there’s no scope for him to become entangled in romantic intrigues. The affectionate relationship with his wife does however provide at least a touch of emotional involvement (and of course we know that Steve will get herself into at least one tight spot and have to be rescued).

The Cold War had just begun so to make the villains freelance spies was actually quite a good idea and makes the film less dated that it would otherwise have been.

Paul Temple’s Triumph is a solid example of the British spy film of its era.

It is fair to say that this film did not have a big budget and this is evident in some of the rear projection used particularly when Paul Temple and his wife are driving through the countryside

That aside – and that didn’t matter much – the film is well worth watching. I enjoyed it

Release was in January of 1950 so, it is one of the first of the Fifties