Penny Gold (1973)

Penny Gold (1973). 1h 27m

“This had all the ingredients to be a great film, but sadly it ultimately falls a bit short of the mark.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt follows the investigation into a young womanu0026#39;s murder in the opening scenes, and the pursuit of a priceless stamp which seems to be connected to her death – the Penny Gold.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s a excellent cast, including the gorgeous Francesca Annis in the lead role, and also James Booth as a rumpled detective who soon gets on the case.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story does become a bit muddled and unfocused, although things pick up a bit towards the end as the deception is finally uncovered.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eApart from Francesca (who plays a set of identical twins here), the best part of the film for me was all the location filming, unusual for a British film from this era. Itu0026#39;s wonderful to see the streets of Windsor and Eton as they were in thr early 70s, as well as Pinewoodu0026#39;s Heatherden Hall and grounds.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt certainly helps to give the film so realism and grittiness, and it must have felt quite fresh and moddish at the time.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut, considering the prestige of the director, this is sadly where the film falls a bit flat – the direction just doesnu0026#39;t create much suspense or real tension, and fails to translate quite an intriguing and twisty story to the big screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHaving said that, it certainly has lots of early 70s charm, and itu0026#39;s fun spotting all the famous faces and locations. The ending, when you get there, is clever and worth waiting for too.”