This is not the same-named TV show starring Dick Van Dyke that seemingly plays on every other basic cable channel. This is a very rare British mystery movie with Christopher Lee and Judy Geeson. I've been looking for it ever since Geeson told me about it when I met her at a convention a few years ago.
Lee plays psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Hayward, whose wife has gone missing. Detective Inspector Lomax (Jon Finch) is assigned to the case. Lomax immediately suspects Hayward, while the doctor's devoted secretary (and mistress) Helen (Judy Geeson) tries to find out what happened on her own. There's plenty of the expected twists & turns along the way, and the grimly ironic ending personally affects all the main characters.
It's fitting that this film has a title of a later well-known TV series, since (according to some sources) it was apparently originally intended for broadcast, even though it was released theatrically in a few spots. It feels more like an episode of a mystery series instead of a full-length feature film (Laurie Johnson's music score has a very distinct small-screen vibe to it). Jon Finch's investigator is the quirky type one expects to carry a TV show--except his quirks are a sarcastic, sullen, and opinionated nature (it would be hard to watch a guy like this week after week). It has to be said that Finch (and the script) certainly does something different with the lead detective role, but the viewer wonders why Lomax has such a bad attitude.
Lomax's mood might have to do with the fact that he's having an affair with a woman (Jane Merrow) who's married to a disagreeable fellow confined to a wheelchair. This subplot (at first) seems to do nothing more than detract from the main storyline.
As for Christopher Lee, I assume the major reason why he did this project is that it gave him a chance to play a contemporary person in a real-life situation. (He also got a chance to wear his favorite suit jacket--see photo below). Lee is more mysterious than menacing here, but there's a few scenes that show how Hayward isn't the most lovable person in the world. The most appealing character in the story by far is Judy Geeson's Helen, but the actress doesn't get all that much to do, other than look pensive and glance out of a window over and over again.
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER was directed by Sidney Hayers (CIRCUS OF HORRORS). He starts out the movie well, with a lone woman walking in a rocky, craggy location being menaced by a sniper. There's also some creativity with the main credits, which are shown in the form of letters cut out from a newspaper, like ransom notes. Despite the opening, the film isn't an action-packed thriller. It was made in England during the fall of 1974, and the grey, drab locations perfectly fit the tone of the story.
DIAGNOSIS: MURDER will appeal mostly to TV mystery fans--there's a few novel twists that the viewer won't see coming (or at least I didn't). It will also be of interest to Christopher Lee fans--it's one of the more obscure projects Lee worked on, and it gave him a chance to play a more real-to-life character. It's a decent story, but I think it might have worked better with more personable characters.
*By the way....getting back to my meeting with Judy Geeson--her main memory of this production was that Christopher Lee would practice his golf swing in between scenes.
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