Not very good mystery, lacking in the subtlety needed to make this type of plot work. Kent is ridiculously arch, and Freeman too whiny and a little dim. A lack of sympathetic characters - Maxwell Reed's character in particular is a patronizing jackass, and all the locals are unlikable, gossipy idiots - as well as an increasingly ludicrous plot, make the whole thing an exercise in how to irritate rather than entertain an audience.