A MATTER OF WHO

UK, 1962, 90 minutes, Black and White.
Terry Thomas, Alex Nicol, Honor Blackman, Sonja Ziemann.
Directed by Don Chaffey.

A Matter of Who is a routine thriller which focuses on the World Health Organisation and uses it as a basis for international intrigue and justice questions. Terry Thomas appears in a more serious role than usual.

1. The tone of the title and its meaning? What did the song add to the film or did it detract from it? The use of the music as a theme (without the words)?

2. How interesting as a thriller was this film? Did it maintain interest? What thriller conventions did it use? How well?

3. What kept audience interest? The theme of the film or identification with characters, or both?

4. How well developed and explained was the oil situation? Did it have an air of credibility? Its similarity to many T.V. series? Does the film win in comparison? Why? The portrayal of double-crossing, greed, the types involved in such deals?

5. How interesting were the health questions? Was this portrayed well and credibly? The efficiency for tracking down disease? The style of people involved in this particular work? Why do audiences have interest in world health?

6. What attitudes towards justice did the film take? The official level of justice and its openness to corruption? Banister taking justice into his own hands? Was he justified? His methods? Audience sympathy for these? Is this necessary when official channels are wrongly closed?

7. How interesting a central character was Banister? How typical of Terry Thomas's performances was it? The way he was made to handle the main plot? The incidental details of his wry comedy, dialogue, driving power, etc.? was he a fitting hero for this kind of film?

8. How did he contrast with Kennedy? The contrast of the British with the Americans? American bluntness and brutality? Their relationship to Michelle? was this real or was it contrived for the film? The ending?

9. How well drawn were the minor characters? Did they seem authentic? Did they represent real human behaviour? Jamison and his support of Banister and work in the office, the official people at the Health Department? Sister Bryan and her efficiency and her relationship to Banister, the admiring phone woman, the people at the party, Ivanovitch and his villainy, the Arabs, Beryl and her stupidity and the dog, Michelle herself as an enigmatic heroine?

10. How was the film aided by its use of locations ? London, Austria? Was the climax appropriately dramatic or did it seem melodramatic? How successful was the film's suspense? On the whole was the film a satisfactory thriller?