Miss Tulip Stays the Night

This is an ill-advised and poorly executed revival of an out-dated type of comedy. Although purporting to be set in contemporary times (i.e. 1954), the nature of the plot and the style of its exposition are redolent of films made twenty years earlier, a feeling reinforced by the inclusion in the cast of those two old stalwarts of 1930s comedy, Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge.

The central plot is a murder mystery of the artificial Agatha Christie type, the contrived solution to which is expounded in dialogue so swiftly in the closing minutes of the film that after its test screening, one baffled viewer's notes read, "Who murdered who? And why?" The comedy is provided by Hulbert and Courtneidge individually, rather than in tandem, and consists of an embarrassing reprise of their well-worn bits of shtick. Courtneidge does not launch into her "two dozen double damask dinner napkins" routine, but one would hardly be surprised if she did.

Diana Dors is her usual beautiful self, but is ill-matched with Patrick Holt as her husband. The actress Ida Patlanski listed in the cast is also known as Pat Terry-Thomas, the wife of Terry-Thomas the English comic actor, whose dog Archie plays the role of Archie in this film.

The film has been restored and issued on DVD by the British Film Institute, together with production details which reveal that the final version of the film was influenced by the script writer, the head of the commissioning company, the producer, the director, one of the actors (Hulbert), and the British film censor, which perhaps explains its lack of cohesion.

Three years earlier, RKO had issued a comedy thriller, "Behave Yourself!" which too was about a young married couple becoming inadvertently embroiled in crime, in which too the wife's name was Kate and the dog's name was Archie. One wonders if the screen writer of "Miss Tulip" had seen that film and had residual memories of it. If so, it is a pity that he had not also remembered that the American film was not a mystery, the precise roles of all the miscreants being spelled out in the opening credits, leaving room for a great deal of comic action with far more entertaining results.

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.

"You go back to sleep and choke me off in the morning!" That line early on in this awful film made me laugh out loud.

Diana Dors looks lovely in this, although she's the only draw.

Other reviews are spot on about this. The comedy is two decades past its sell by date. The mystery comes across as more Enid Blyton than Agatha Christie.

Some staples of forties British cinema are wheeled in to provide light relief, but do no more than add a cringe aspect for the viewer.

All that said, I still enjoyed this restored uncut gem.

Despite the terrible editing, uninspired screenplay, the awkward pacing and the silly characters, there's still enough nostalgic value remaining to entertain us old folk... and of course... Diana Dors!

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.