Miss Tulip Stays the Night

Patrick Holt is "Dax", a successful crime writer who is suffering from a bit of a mental block. His wife "Kate" (Diana Dors) suggest they take a break in the country where they encounter the eponymous "Miss Tulip" (Cicely Courtneidge) - but not for long. On coming down in the morning, they discover the French windows open and their guest shot dead. The police arrive and under the investigative gaze of "Insp. Thorne" (Joss Ambler) the game is afoot. Dors was always a very light-weight actress and offers little of substance here, but at times there is a bit of fun tit-for-tat dialogue between the policeman and the novelist to keep this otherwise entirely forgettable comedy off the rocks. The ending is not quite the stuff of Agatha Christie but it's a little bit quirky and all-in-all this is actually quite a passable, low-budget, hour or so of bucolic sleuthing.

Since this is film stars Diana Dors the title seems to be a sexy comedy but it's not what you think. Diana Dors is the wife of a mystery writer, Patrick Holt, who is experiencing writer's block. Ms. Dors has rented a cottage for the in the country to help. But their peaceful refuge is invaded by the demanding elderly Miss Tulip who claims she is being stalked and demands they do what they can to make her comfortable in their cottage. When things run to murder and the police arrive, writer husband is hard pressed to investigate the mystery while being demeaned by police inspector Joss Ambler. The real fun is between Dors and brow-beaten constable Jack Hulbert. While the lightweight mystery unfolds, Dors and Hulbert keep a light comic element working. It's not any great shakes, but fun to watch Dors' comic talent shine.

Now I appreciate that the BIG has to negotiate for rights to films it releases on DVD so what persuaded them to invest time and effort into releasing this load of rubbish.The cast is interesting on paper but in reality they don't tell.What on earth is Diana Ford doing in this,shortly before her trip to America to try and do for TOO what Monroe had done for Fox.Can anyone seriously believe that Patrick Holt is her husband.Lovely Courtneidge who always acted as if she had a bad case of st vitus dance.Her husband Jack Gilbert smuggling his way through the film.The plot is virtually non existent and if you thought that you were going to see a serious thriller well you will have to think again.At 65 minutes it feels more like 2 hours.

Obviously designed as a second feature to a cinematic double bill, "Miss Tulip Stays The Night" aka "Dead By Morning" is a static low-budget comedy-mystery, set mostly inside one apartment, with a small cast, and loaded with circular talk to pad out the running time (it feels MUCH longer than its 65 minutes), leading to a rushed resolution. If there is one reason to bother with it, it's pouty Diana Dors, who shows a pleasing knack for comedy; in fact, she's so good that you may wish she had done more comedies in her career and fewer dreary dramas. OK, "Feathers" is sometimes funny as well. ** out of 4.

This British comedy mystery was missing a couple of essential things: Gaumont-British or Gainsborough as the production company, 1935, plenty of lively interpolative music and a handful of songs to pad out the dolorous 65 minute running time. Never mind about the acting or story. It was a deliberately old-fashioned film mainly intended for the then older generation to enjoy, but I doubt whether they left the cinema with happy feelings engendered; and TV was making it so much easier to feel disappointed. It had as main characters old stalwarts Jack Hulbert, Cicely Courtneidge, Joss Ambler, even A. E. Matthews – however time had taken its toll on them - alongside the photogenic Diana Dors for whom time was just beginning.

Young married couple take possession of house in country when a slightly cuckoo middle aged lady arrives (Courtneidge of course), decides to spend the night with them but leaves in an apparently murdered condition. The husband Patrick Holt is a crime story writer to whom local police Inspector Ambler takes an unreasonable exception as competition, the wife played by Dors is scatty until the last frantic five minutes. The film veers from interesting socially to embarrassing with pregnant pauses and blank looks to (very) occasionally witty dialogue: "The police have no right to infest my premises","Infest?","The word was chosen with care". Jack as the police constable and Cicely were generally awkward, some might say even when young, and just too out of practice by now for movies - what they could get away in 1935 was impossible by 1955. At the climax she really should've had a jaunty song and ungainly dance to burst into; and attention must paid to the denouement to understand it, that is, if still awake.

Maybe another sad thing is that it's probably easier and more cost-effective for the BFI to restore and release films like this in better condition rather than older, more worthy and more urgent cases. The production company Nettlefold which made this dire effort had been in operation more or less on a shoestring budget since 1895 but TV finally helped close it down in 1961. I've no objection to seeing this to say hello again to some old friends especially as it's so short, but it's difficult for even me to get much more from this or recommend it. It's OK, but if you're interested be prepared for a waste of time.