The Body Vanished

A snappy, rather amusing little murder mystery courtesy of the unknown-to-me Venture Films. It should be noted that THE BODY VANISHED clocks in at a mere 46 minute running time, which means that it has little time to faff around and instead gets on with telling an involving if rather predictable type of storyline.

The setting is a rural village and the mystery involves a country house where a body was discovered by the butler before disappearing. Thankfully, a visiting police detective and his journalist friend happen to be in the area and decide to investigate the crime themselves, and they soon discover a rather complicated plot which I won't go into here.

What I liked most about THE BODY VANISHED is the plentiful humour, which gives this film a lightness of touch, a quality that others from the era lack. There are no less than three comic characters in support; the dumb village policeman, the flustered journalist, and the old yokel wants his tricycle back. They certainly give this mystery a lively edge, and Anthony Hulme's lead is pretty good too.

Despite a short run time this is a breezy, effective British mystery. A Scotland Yard Inspector (Anthony Hulme) is on holidays with his friend, a newspaper reporter. The two come into a small village for rest and refreshments before continuing their holiday. Their peace is disturbed when a villager runs into the local pub declaring the owner of a nearby mansion has been murdered.

The two quickly journey to the mansion and find that there is no corpse to suggest a murder. The local authority in charge of the investigation is not up to the task, prompting the Scotland Yard man to stick around. Hulme's first goal is to learn if a murder actually occurred. There are enough clues present to suggest this is so, so now the detective turns his attention to finding the corpse.

Step by step, Hulme first finds the corpse, then he unveils the motive for murder and ultimately the killer. All nicely done against a backdrop of eccentric rural characters.

While this film clocks in at a brief 46 minutes, that fact shouldn't be held against it. There's certainly no padding here - it moves along quite well. A Scotland Yard inspector and a newspaper reporter are traveling on vacation, and come upon a murder without a corpse. A bumbling local bobby provides comic relief that's not too overdone, and a lovely young woman floats in and out of the plot. Don't expect Christie quality in the story line, but by 1939, they had learned to keep the plot moving, and avoid the talkie-ness of the early 1930s movies. You won't find a lot or red herrings to keep you wondering, but if you let the story come to you, you may find it quite enjoying. I watched it on Youtube, and consider it a well spent hour.

Stilted, garrulous and studio-bound (most of the 'action' is confined to the local pub), but breezy, fast-moving and good-natured, with the usual murders served up light-heartedly and the usual eager reporter in attendance more interested in what a story it will make.

The auction scene that passes for action is plainly cribbed from Hitchcock's 'The Skin Game', Ernest Sefton as the comic police sergeant resembles an unfunny Robb Wilton and an actress called Eve Foster provides a graceful female lead with cyanide in her handbag.

If you're actually paying attention the plot is rather convoluted; but if you're not, don't worry, it's all (very) carefully explained at the conclusion.

A brisk British quota-quickie that follows the Holmes and Watson template, with hapless news reporter C. Denier Warren playing Watson to Anthony Hulme's Holmes. More humour than normal - with no less than three comic relief characters - and a mildly diverting mystery that's wrapped up in double-quick time prevent The Body Vanished from being a bore.