The Franchise Affair

A reasonably faithful adaptation of Josephine Tey's 1948 novel based on an actual case of alleged kidnapping nearly two hundred years earlier; but also all too common unfortunately in the twenty-first century.

It begins rather like 'Kiss Me Deadly' with a flimsily dressed young woman thumbing a lift at night, while the mob violence unleashed against the two 'outsiders' recalls 'Le Corbeau'. But for the most part it's content to amble along without much sense of urgency as you scratch your head pondering over the 'why' rather than the 'what'?

To my chagrin, I know nothing about Director Lawrence Huntington. After watching THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, the keener my regret about my ignorance.

THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, a fine novel by Josephine Tey, is competently, classily and unpretentiously transposed to the silver screen by Huntington and Robert Hall, relying to a considerable extent on a superior performance from the male lead, Michael Denison - about whom, equally regrettably, I know just as little.

That said, Denison and female lead Dulcie Gray were married in real life, and certainly you feel a stable and solid connection between them (their marriage lasted over 60 years).

Very good support performances from the elderly and highly dignified Marjorie Fielding, a very young Kenneth More as a mechanic, the beautiful Hy Hazell as the key witness. The only performance I found wanting was that of Ann Stephens as Betty, the mendacious accuser, but perhaps the fault also lies with her part which, in my view, should have made her motivations more clear.

Excellent cinematography by Günther Krampf and editing by Clifford Boote.

Definitely worth watching - more than once, too! 8/10.

The Franchise affair is set in 50s England when people doffed their caps, respect was given its due and everything was oh so proper. This film stars the real life married couple Dennison and Gray and you can see by their interplay that they love each other. Ann Stephens plays Betty Kane which must be the highlight of her brief career. Athene Seyler as Dennisons Aunt is as always a delight and we have a future Doctor Who as well as Tremayne from the Champions doing very professional work.Kenny More in an early part oozes his considerable charm and the film works on a quaint level. The stilted acting is a product of English film in the fifties and there is enough intrigue to keep everyone happy. All in all a lovely little picture.

A young girl reappears after a two week absence with a fantastic story of having been held captive by two women in an isolated house. The police seem disinclined to investigate deeply, so it is up to the women's lawyer to uncover the truth.

The movie is extraordinarily faithful to the book; indeed, entire pages of dialogue are transferred to the screen. The biggest change is in the nature of how the truth is disclosed, which is both tidier and more believable in the film.

The story is less a mystery than a character study, and in this the film falls flat. The most interesting character, the girl, is almost an aside. A section of the book that outlines her background and fills out her story has been dropped, and the film is poorer for that.

Still, you're likely to find it an intriguing film, if not one you'll rush to see again.

I would not be put off from watching this very enjoyable movie by some of the opinions posted here. THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR is a movie you should seek out because it is, simply, very well made.

The 1951 film was based on the Josephine Tey novel - recently voted by the Crime Writer's Association as one of the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time - and her novel was in turn based on a true 18th century case, that of Elizabeth Canning. Canning was a woman who accused two other women of kidnapping her and forcing her to become a prostitute. As the evidence against them grows a lawyer very reluctantly agrees to take on their case.

The film was made in moody black and white, nicely photographed by Gunther Krampf, a cameraman who began his career shooting beautiful silent films in Germany before emigrating to Britain in the late 1930s. His work has graced many a film. The story was updated by author Tey to the present time and the movie presents pleasant views of English village life in the 1940s. The script is extremely well-written. True, it contains a good deal of dialog, literate dialog I might add, but I believe this enhances the story-telling in the picture rather than takes away from it.

The acting is, as always with films made in the golden years of British film making, top-notch. I was more than a little amused by the criticism of one writer on this site who disparaged Mr Denison's acting and of another who called the acting "stilted". I suppose if one is accustomed to the hilarious, idiotically over-the-top acting style of today it is hard to adjust to genuinely fine acting. Again, do not be put off by comments like this: the acting is first-rate all down the line. Look for future British film stars in small roles here and there, and relish the delightfully dotty performance of the great Athene Seyler as the lawyer's mother. Such witty and well-judged performances like those are always worth a look.

THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR is very highly recommended.