Very good thriller , with many sudden new developments , with a cast against type Stanley baker ; the film may remind you of Asquith's "libel " starring Dirk Bogarde : the subject of a possible imposture is common to both movies .They deal with the post-WW2 era at a time where nothing was forgotten : after all ,this missing dad might be an ex-torturer ;listen to the conversation between Cushing and Zetterling : she says she's never committed any crime ,but his answer reflects the guilt of a defeated country;besides he has probably blackmailed the young refugee who ,in her camp , desperately needs papers to be a full citizen .But Lisa the hero's stepmother , married the ex-officer,because her mother urged her to do so , so as to both of them could get by.
The hero is overtaken by events and seems victim of a big conspiracy ; the places are hostile: the desirable Gothic house, the catholic cemetery where his father was interred (whereas he's a protestant). The fact that he anglicized his name (Neumann/Newmann) is revealing : he wants to know the truth but he's afraid of what he may learn ;too bad Mai Zetterling 's character was given so little scenes ;on the other hand, Harold Scott ,on the train, is excellent as a worn-out old man....
It may be far-fetched ,but it's the rule of the game of the thriller ; as Hitchcock would have said, it's the "Mac Guffin" which matters and suspense is sustained till the end .
The hero is overtaken by events and seems victim of a big conspiracy ; the places are hostile: the desirable Gothic house, the catholic cemetery where his father was interred (whereas he's a protestant). The fact that he anglicized his name (Neumann/Newmann) is revealing : he wants to know the truth but he's afraid of what he may learn ;too bad Mai Zetterling 's character was given so little scenes ;on the other hand, Harold Scott ,on the train, is excellent as a worn-out old man....
It may be far-fetched ,but it's the rule of the game of the thriller ; as Hitchcock would have said, it's the "Mac Guffin" which matters and suspense is sustained till the end .