The Mystery of the Red Monkey
Dedicada a Ángela, Moon, Ariadna, Zuma, Sandra, Sonia, Mettu… Con todo mi cariño.
Released in Spain as “El misterio del mono rojo” (The Mystery of the Red Monkey), this is a spy picture that borrows freely from the work of Edgar Allan Poe and sets its action in the London of 1954, at the height of the Cold War, when scientists specializing in missiles and nuclear warfare were more important than NBA players.
In those days, the journey of one such scientist — with a London stopover before continuing to the United States — was a golden opportunity for Communist agents intent on eliminating a mind that had chosen to put itself at the service of capitalism. Ken Hughes tells us this story and does so with a highly realistic technique: an almost documentary, stark visual style, filming in natural locations with very little light in most scenes — and in doing so, unknowingly inventing what would become the iconic cinema verité aesthetic.
The cast includes Richard Conte, playing an American by leaning into his familiar image as a staple of film noir; Rona Anderson, who brings the sentimental tension sequences to life with considerable grace, built from a situation that is entirely far-fetched; and Colin Gordon, who shapes the character of a journalist.
Worth noting too is the way the film exploits the contrast between the British police and the American agents — the puritanical civic rigor of an officer without a gun who never drinks on duty, set against another who empties glasses of whisky while protected by the weapon in his shoulder holster.
In case it wasn’t already clear who comes out on top, the girl’s romantic preferences leave no room for doubt.
Though a modest production, British director Ken Hughes manages to sustain tension throughout the entire film.
Highly recommended and a pleasure to watch — don’t miss it.
Carlos