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| How nice a wee family get together. |
The usual suspects were involved in the making this Corsair
Productions B-movie from 1953. Helmed by Daniel Birt (
The
Night Won’t Talk 1952,
Meet
Mr Malcolm 1954) adapted by Brook William from story by Roger East with
quality black and white photography from the reliable Hone Glendining.
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| Surely the elderly housekeeper is not going to murder Uncle? |
A drawing room whodunit where a rich, but intensely disliked
uncle (Nicholas Hannen) calls a family reunion to tell his baying relations
that he’s about to change his will. But low and behold he’s shot dead before he
can complete the task. Of course there’s plenty off suspects even if we ignore
the Butler and the elderly housekeeper played by Katie Johnson, who you will
recognise from Ealing’s 1955 black comedy The
Ladykillers. There’s the cousin Sophie Burgoyne (Oslo born Greta Gynt) the
amateur sleuth and crime writer who knows a lot about murder, stables owner
Philip Burgoyne (Hugh Sinclair) who has money problems and his wife the hateful
Dorothy (this blogger’s favourite B actress Sarah Lawson). Then there’s the relation
who expects to inherit the old mans estate, Henry Burgoyne (John Van Eyssen)
whose last hope of riches rests with Uncle’s money, not forgetting his fiancé
Esme (Helen Cordet the French television actress in her debut feature film
role) who has one too many secrets. And
if any B-movie has Elwyn Brook-Jones in the cast then you automatically have a
suspect, he plays the murder victims lawyer, Wilbraham.
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| 'Perhaps Uncle shoot himself?' |
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| Not according to the police he didn't. |
Some well above average acting from this ensemble B-movie
cast and certainly one of Birt’s better examples from this genre. Up until
recently we would not have had the chance to see it.
There is no
indication that the film was ever shown publicly again in cinemas after its
initial release or on television. The British
Film Institute included the film
on its "75 Most Wanted" list of missing British feature films, due in
large part to interest from film historians in Birt's relatively brief
directorial career, which as I have said previously was cut short by his death
at the age of 47 in 1955. The National Film and Sound Archive in Australia
subsequently informed the BFI it has the film.
So thanks to Odeon Entertainment for painstakingly restoring this ‘missing
believed lost’ movie to life for us to all to enjoy.
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| Esme is not about to divulge her secrets! |
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