Third Party Risk is a minor film based on a thriller by a minor author who was, nevertheless, a very interesting individual. His name was Nicolas Bentley and he was the son of E.C. Bentley, author of Trent's Last Case and second President of the Detection Club. Nicolas's second name was the same as his father's - Clerihew. Apparently his birth name was Nicholas, but he opted to change the spelling.
Nicolas was best known as an illustrator and sold his first drawing to his godfather - none other than his dad's old chum G.K. Chesterton. He was well-connected - his father-in-law was the famous barrister Sir Patrick Hastings - and his work in publishing led to associations with a variety of prominent people such as Ian Fleming.
Nicolas wrote a handful of thrillers but never became a member of the Detection Club. Two of his books were filmed, however, lucky chap, and this was one of them. What's more, the film features a number of pretty good character actors, such as Finlay Currie and Roger Delgado (who was in thos days often cast as an exotic foreigner; he later became famous as The Master in Doctor Who), as well as Maureen Swanson and Lloyd Bridges.
The first part of the story is set in Spain - this was a time when authors and film-makers were responding to people's interest in exciting Continental locations during an age of austerity. Casting an American in a lead role was another common feature of films of this era. While on holiday, Philip Graham (Bridges) bumps into an old friend who has to leave in a hurry. Philip has to take his pal's car back to England, and finds himself mixed up in a tangle involving microfilms and murder. The result is competent entertainment, albeit nothing out of the ordinary. A B-movie, but not a bad one.
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