Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress

Another episode of the "House of Hammer" Podcast and we're still in the 1940's and with yet another adaptation of a successful radio series. This time, Dr Morelle, a fairly thin facsimile of Sherlock Holmes, but one who is blunt to the point of rude. The film is a relatively strange who dunnit (or perhaps how dunnit would be better).

Cynthia Mason (Jean Lodge) goes missing under mysterious circumstances. An old school friend, Miss Frayle (Julia Lang) comes to investigate. Having found evidence of foul play, Miss Frayle brings in her employer, Dr Morelle (Valentine Myall) a skilled sleuth who gets to the extraordinary bottom of this unlikely mystery.

There are two main problems with "Dr Morelle". The first is that the film is too long. Even at just 74 minutes it's around twice the length that the story should take. There are some interesting beats to the story, but they are padded beyond tolerance, and I kept finding that I had to force myself to refocus on the film. The second is that, by todays standards, but I'd assume from the fact that there aren't any more "Dr Morelle" films, the audience of the times too, Doctor Morelle himself is far too harsh a character, berating poor Miss Frayle (and indeed the rest of the characters) with an unlikeable superiority.

There are a few small positives, there's some fun to be had (if you're of a certain age) by the suiter in the story being called Peter Lorimer. I was genuinely surprised that the ending wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. Unfortunately, there's far too much wading through the mud and listening to a jackass to make it a worthwhile experience overall.

As a point of interest, the character of "Dr Morelle" was created for the popular Monday night BBC radio series "Monday Night At 8" that replaced the earlier prewar "Monday Night At 7" (which introduced us to Inspector Hornleigh) that comprised a miscellany of brief lighthearted

items aimed to put listeners into a relaxed state before hearing the latest (censored) grim war front events on the 9 o'clock news - de regeur for the whole nation. The programme usually included a short spoof spy tale and,of course,breezy Ronnie Waldman's "Puzzle Corner" and that deliberate mistake... The film,itself,was another B support of the late 40s that cashed in on popular

earlier radio shows of the time,usually of moderately.if unexciting quality with acceptable production values. Others included Dick Barton,The Man In Black & Hi Gang!

Julia Lang discovers that her friend, heiress Jean Lodge has gone missing. She goes to investigate at the charmingly named Barren Tor in Devonshire, disguising herself as the new housemaid. There she finds Miss Lodge's wheelchair-bound stepfather, a creepy butler, and a stalwart young fiance. Finding herself out of her depth, she calls her regular employer, psychiatrist Valentine Dyall for aid.

It's another of the movie adaptations of BBC radio programs that Hammer tried in the late 1940s. This one is based on a series written by Ernest Dudley. It was a long-running series, initially starring Dennis Arundell. In the 1950s, the role was taken by Cecil Parker. There were also short stories, and even a stage play.

THe movie itself is a stereotyped potboiler, distinguished only by Dyall's characterization as the annoyingly perceptive Morelle.

This is quite a decent little conspiracy mystery. "Cynthia" (Jean Lodge) is the eponymous heiress who has been living in the care of her controlling, wheelchair-bound, step-father "Kimber" (Philip Leaver - reminded me a little of Francis L. Sullivan). When she announces that she wishes to marry; he has to act and she promptly disappears. Her friend "Miss. Frayne" (Julia Lang) goes to investigate and puzzled by all of this, summons her employer - the hypnotist "Dr. Morelle" (Valentine Dyall) to get to the bottom of everything... It's a fairly routine mystery, and as it is told via retrospective we have little jeopardy - but it is still quite enjoyable to watch Lyall in full pomp and there are, as usual, some lovely scenes from Hugh Griffiths as the amiable, but scatty butler "Bensall". It's very much of it's time, this film - there is a condescension from Lyall to Lang that's over-egged a bit, but it doesn't spoil it too much - it's just a quickly paced, sometimes humorous, crime thriller that easily kills an hour - without killing anything else!

Although this is a rather threadbare effort it does have a fairly entertaining and well thought out ending.The voice of Valentine Dyall permeates the whole film giving the clue to the film's origins.At that time many BBC radio programmes were being turned into films,often with unlikely titles such as The 20 Questions Murder Mystery.I have to say that I cannot remember a similar climax when the tables were so neatly turned on the murderer with no less than two further twists giving a very neat and ingenious ending>Too often endings seemed contrived and unsatisfactory ,but such concerns definitely do not apply to this thriller.