Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Photographic effects: Tom Howard. Music composed and conducted by John Addison; played by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Produced by Hayes Goetz (pronounced "Gets"). Copyright 19 September 1952 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at the Little Carnegie: 27 October 1952. U.S. release: November 1952. U.K. release: 8 December 1952. Australian release: 21 November 1952. 7,031 feet. 79 minutes. Censored by one minute in Australia in order to gain a "G" Certificate.SYNOPSIS: In 1890, London is shocked at the number of murders of policemen taking place in varied sections of the city. They are always advertised beforehand by a postcard sent to Scotland Yard and signed "The Terror". On the day that the newspapers announce the murder of the eighth policeman, Nicholas Revel (Peter Lawford), an insurance assessor named MacStreet (Colin Gordon), and Ernie Perker (Leslie Dwyer), a hackney cab driver, conspire to steal the immensely valuable Calgurie Emerald at a society ball given by its owner, Mrs. Chumley Orr (Heather Thatcher). The ball is an important affair for other people besides Revel and his accomplices because Jane (Dawn Addams), daughter of the Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Sir Herbert Frensham (Michael Hordern), had decided that her engagement to Captain Sir Christopher Lenhurst (Derek Bond) will be announced there. Revel succeeds in stealing the emerald, but makes one blunder. Having hidden the jewel, he throws its chain and clasp out of a window and it lands at the feet of the ninth of the "Terror's" victims. Thus, when the police find the body, they associate the murderer with the robbery.COMMENT: Good thriller, smoothly directed and agreeably acted — a bit disappointing though for a Philip MacDonald work and the director could have made more play on the suspense and mystery element of "The Terror".OTHER VIEWS: When Dawn Addams stepped before the cameras in England for her role opposite Peter Lawford in M-G-M's mystery-thriller "The Hour of 13", it marked a gratifying moment for the attractive young actress. It was little less than two years ago when Miss Addams first set foot in Metro's London studios to be tested for the role of Judy Miniver in The Miniver Story. Although her test was praised the role subsequently went to Cathy O'Donnell.After that disappointment, Miss Addams went to Hollywood, where she made another test for M-G-M and this time was signed to a long-term contract. She made an auspicious debut as the young college girl who became involved in an auto smash-up with Ray Milland in "Night Into Morning", and followed with the role of Richard Anderson's fiancée in "The Unknown Man". She was next be seen as a member of the all- star cast in "Plymouth Adventure".Born in Suffolk, England, Dawn spent the first five years of her life in India, where her father was stationed with the Royal Air Force. During the war years she lived for a time in England, was evacuated to Wales, spent two years in the United States, then returned to England in 1945. She subsequently studied at the Royal Academy of Drama in London and won her first stage role at the famed Drury Lane Theater. - MGM publicity.

The Hour of 13 is directed by Harold French and adapted to screenplay by Leon Gordon and Howard Emmett Rogers from the novel "Mystery of the Dead Police" written by Philip MacDonald. It stars Peter Lawford, Dan Addams, Roland Culver, Derek Bond, Leslie Dwyer and Michael Hordern. Music is by John Addison and cinematography by Guy Green.1890, London, and a serial killer known as The Terror is murdering policemen. When gentleman thief Nicholas Revel unwittingly becomes the chief suspect, he must use his guile and wits to prove he's not the killer; whilst also not getting caught for a jewel robbery he has just committed.A dandy thief and a serial killer on a collision course.Philip MacDonald's novel had already been adapted to screen for the 1934 film, The Mystery of Mr. X, making this a remake. The Hour of 13 is a little cracker of a movie, a genre splicer of some worth, it's part murder mystery, part police procedural, part romance, part robbery and also funny as well. These all make the picture narratively strong, the threads running concurrently but never once threatening to be complex or cloy the picture.The backdrop is Victorian London, resplendent with glistening cobbled streets, bulbous street lamps and drizzly mist, where horse drawn taxis thunder down the roads. The protagonists are dandy gents, chirpy workers or beautiful ladies. The antagonist is a Jack the Ripper type, stealthily moving about the murky streets on a mission to kill policemen. We are in a time when wearing a policeman's helmet can land you one day in prison, where the British Bobby patrols the streets to make the locals feel safe, but they themselves are now not safe.There's splendid performances across the board, with a chance to view the gorgeous Dawn Addams in one of her very first roles, a potent score from Addison and the work of French and Green is atmospherically tight to the plotting. Delightful film that deserves to be better known. 8/10

A bobby, I learned , is a British slang word for cop, which itself is a slang word for policeman. In London, they are actually constables who work for Scotland Yard, and one by one, a dozen of them have been bumped off, stabbed to death by a vicious killer. Jewel thief Peter Lawford happens to commit a burglary (stealing a valuable emerald), and in his escape attempt, comes across the body of the latest victim. The necklace is left behind minus the emerald, and the jewel theft and murder are all of a sudden tied together. Lawford cleverly comes up with a way of both finding the killer and getting away with being able to get rid of the emerald and end up with double the profit, not only via the reward, but by the sale of the gem as well.While there is definitely some cleverness to this, it takes a while for that to settle in, the first quarter of this film being rather dry and humorless. Lawford does make fun of himself though in a scene where his character breaks into song and he is clearly off key, one of the listeners telling him politely how truly horrible he is. Dawn Addams plays the pretty daughter of the head of Scotland Yard (Michael Hordern) who is grateful to Lawford to coming to her fiancée's rescue. Roland Culver is the other officer whom Lawford turns the tables on after trying to give him a knock-out drug.The result of this remake of "The Mystery of Mr. X" is that it isn't at all spooky, eerie, foggy or really even a mystery because you know who's guilty of what, but in the case of the killer, you just don't know why. It isn't dreary, just nothing out of the ordinary.

Just saw this film for the first time since it's release in 1952. I was 10 years old then and quite enjoyed it. I must say that it has held up pretty well. No great entry in the Victorian, foggy street mystery genre, but it keeps ones interest throughout.This movie, by the way, was shot in MGM's British studio and features a fine line up of English actors who turn in typically solid performances.One more thing: this was by no means one of MGM's major productions for 1952. In fact, it pretty much qualifies as a B movie (except for running time); that is, a second, and cheaper, feature on a double bill. By 1952, the traditional B movie (as opposed to pictures that merely had lower budgets than the headlining A efforts) had just about disappeared. Soon, virtually all movies could be classed as A pictures, with the possible exception of the shoestring productions by little companies that often ended up at the local drive-in.My point is this: studios such as MGM, when they consciously turned out the 60-65 minute movies that were shot in a couple of weeks at most, still maintained a fairly high standard of quality. One can think of the Val Lewton horror films at RKO-Radio Pictures or. . . well, or "The Hour of 13!"