"The Man Who Finally Died" released December 1963, was a BBC serial
that originally aired in 1959, with this feature version following three
years later, with an entirely different cast. Stanley Baker stars as
British subject Joe Newman, formerly the German-born Joachim Deutsch,
who has believed his father Kurt dead for 20 years, until receiving a
phone call from Bavaria claiming to be Kurt Deutsch. Upon arriving, he
locates his father's grave before visiting the Deutsch widow, Lisa (Mai
Zetterling), currently living in the country home of Dr. Peter von
Brecht (Peter Cushing), his every move watched by the local police, plus
the insurance investigator (Niall MacGinnis) responsible for Newman's
phone call, who feels that the deceased may still be alive. Holds up
rather well despite its television origins, thankfully not lost though
unseen for decades, reuniting Baker with Peter Cushing, five years after
1957's "Violent Playground." Cushing initially appears sympathetic but
gradually displays more sinister shadings, but has only one lengthy
scene during the film's first half (the von Brecht home is Bray studio's
familiar Oakley Court). The fine supporting cast includes Nigel Green,
who previously appeared with Cushing in 1960's "Sword of Sherwood
Forest," which also featured Niall MacGinnis (playing Friar Tuck), who
again supported Cushing in 1966's excellent "Island of Terror."
