Murder at the Grange

Its a pity that Todd Slaughter didn't do some barnstorming as it would have saved me from falling asleep halfway through.It is all so tedious,just a lot of talk in the very small Bushey studios.I woke up the truly ridiculous climax which would awaken any sonambulent audience.

How odd this thing seems, 55 years after its making.

It is a little detective yarn (presumably for TeeVee) made to appear as if it were made in 1933. Already that era was remembered brightly enough to be valued as a touchstone: solid mind entering perfidious situations with blinds and hidden schemes.

The production values, sets and era of the story are all from the 30s. Unfortunately, when you make something that appears old, you have only two choices. You can replicate it, but if you do, you have to match not what was, but what people recall of what was. And sometimes that is unattainable.

Or you can create something that has two layers, the recreated one and the "present," self- aware one. Almost everyone chooses this path because it is easier, more hip and allows for cleverness.

This project makes the first choice. And fails.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Murder at the Grange looks like a quota quickie short. It was meant to be an episode of an early 1950s television series featuring the character of Inspector Morley (Patrick Barr.)

He has been approached by an elderly spinster Cynthia with a curious story about her sister Agatha when she was younger.

Agatha was engaged to be married to Richard Parker but her father forbade it as he did not like him.

Parker left for Australia but apparently vowed revenge on the family. Cynthia believes that Parker has over the years had killed members of the family.

Inspector Morley visits their home and immediately recognises the shady butler Reilly as someone with a criminal record. Meanwhile he does not get much joy from the disabled Agatha who has hated everyone since she had to dump Parker.

This is a slow moving talky episode. Trying to find the whereabouts of Parker. Strange thing is despite there being another death. Morley had worked it all out much earlier.

In "Murder at the Grange", formerly "Death at the Festival", Tod Slaughter doesn't plays Terence Reilly (his character in both "King of the Underworld" and "Murder at Scotland Yard"), but his brother Patrick, also a master criminal. Patrick Reilly also appeared in other episodes of the series, along with his brother Terence. Most of the sources spell the name as "Riley" but it's erroneous; furthermore, one of the episodes is called REILLY AT BAY...

Apparently, MURDER AT THE GRANGE was originally an episode of a short-lived TV series starring the inimitable Tod Slaughter, but I saw the theatrical edition (which curiously omits Slaughter's name from the opening credits).

It's a short and straightforward piece, in which a private investigator looks into the back story of a pair of elderly sisters who have been receiving death threats. It's all to do with a complex back story beginning with a torrid love affair and all is made right at the end, but not before the usual twists and turns.

Patrick Barr is the stolid investigator, but the fun here comes from seeing Slaughter hamming it up a treat as the dodgy butler.