Crime on the Hill

The local squire dies. His American ward, Sally Blane, inherits. Then in comes Phyllis Dare. She and the dead man had been secretly married for a few weeks, so she inherits, although she promises to take care of Miss Blane. The younger woman is just as pleased, because her fiancé, Anthony Bushell, had called off their engagement, angry that he was thought a fortune hunter. Local vicar Lewis Casson preaches a sermon on false witnesses, and things are going along swimmingly, until the body is exhumed, and the cause of death turns out not be be a heart attack, as Doctor Nigel Playfair had thought, but poison. The police settle on Bushell as the murderer and he is found guilty. Then....

It's a mediocre mystery programmer, but director Bernard Vorhaus does a fair job of translating it from a stage play, making use of a small village and appurtenances, some nice natural sets that have the Doctor and vicar fishing at the beginning and settling up the characters quickly. No one is more than a brief sketch, but for a one-hour movie, it's well acted and shot by DP Clause Friese-Greene.

Snappy British murder mystery set in an idyllic village where almost everyone seems to have a secret that's linked to the sudden death of the local squire. The photography is among the highlights of the film and director Bernard Vorhaus keeps it moving at a fair clip.

No one suspects anything when the squire dies. He had a bad heart. His will leaves just about all his estate to his American ward (Sally Blane) who's on the verge of marrying a local boy (Anthony Bushell), but he's reluctant because the villagers will say he's marrying her for her money. Of course he's reluctant for another reason. But when Claire (Phyllis Dare) comes forward and claims to have secretly married the old squire a month ago, the level of gossip in the village is so high, an exhumation is ordered and it's discovered the old man was poisoned! It's a terrific cat and mouse game that we get from this point on, with virtually everyone having a big fat motive for killing the squire.

Cast includes Judy Kelly as the maid, Lewis Casson as the vicar, Nigel Playfair as the doctor, Gus McNaughton as the butler, George Merritt as the detective, Norma Varden as the typist, and Toni Edgar-Bruce as a tourist.

Sally Blane is quite good, but the real treat is the chance to see Phyllis Dare in what may be her only surviving film. Dare was mentioned in an episode of Downton Abbey as the epitome of the West End musical star. She made only 3 silent films and only 3 talkies. This was her talkie debut (at age 43). She apparently appeared on stage through the 1940s.

I am genuinely surprised to discover this was made way back in 1933, watching it on DVD I was amazed by the quality of sound and picture, great efforts must have been made to tidy it up. It's not just the physical side that impressed me, the story itself was so good, told in a very cognisant way. The plot was cohesive, well constructed, and featured enough red herrings to throw the viewer off course. The ending came as a surprise, and outcome I definitely hadn't expected. I loved the way the body was discovered, the way everyone carried on as normal, with a corpse sat in plain sight, very nicely done. The acting did impress me, you tend to expect some poor performances in a film of this age, but that wasn't the case, I thought the acting was really rather good.

Better then a host of films made since. 8/10

Classic British black & white movie from the early 30s starring the great Phyllis Dare in one of her few movie appearances. Phyllis was a child star from the 1890s and the sister of Zena Dare who was in My Fair Lady. Both were leading Picture Postcard Beauties at the turn of last century

A straightforward murder mystery told well. Allowing for differences in acting methods since then and the technical capabilities of film just about as good as any supporting feature made in the 1930s. One or two technical glitches on the print I've seen do not detract from enjoyment of the story which is your classic Sunday Afternoon Old Film.

Lots of local colour and scenes of ordinary life in a village for the period makes for interesting viewing. There are enough Red Herrings to keep the plot ticking over.

For those who like trivia: Michael Bilton (Old Ned in To the Manor Born) is to be seen fleetingly in the garden fête scene as a very young man sporting a straw boater.