Meanwhile, the real killer, unassuming ex-schoolteacher Walter Hoover, continues to prey on London women.

[citation needed] Additionally, the book featured scenes of police brutality that were excised altogether.

[5] On release in the UK it was well received critically[citation needed] with author Graham Greene being a notable fan.

[3] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This gripping and exciting thriller has been admirably produced and directed.

The strange night life on the trunk roads with the open all-night cafés (pronounced "caffs") is contrasted with the gay and flashy palais de danse.

The sinister opening – a group of people waiting outside a prison for the bell which tolls for the execution of a murderer – is repeated in the closing sequence, after a climax in the Grand Guignol tradition.