[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

The Franchise Affair

  • 1951
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
455
YOUR RATING
The Franchise Affair (1951)
CrimeDramaMysteryRomanceThriller

Michael Denison plays a lawyer investigating kidnapping charges against Dulcie Gray. Based on a novel by Josephine Tey.Michael Denison plays a lawyer investigating kidnapping charges against Dulcie Gray. Based on a novel by Josephine Tey.Michael Denison plays a lawyer investigating kidnapping charges against Dulcie Gray. Based on a novel by Josephine Tey.

  • Director
    • Lawrence Huntington
  • Writers
    • Robert Hall
    • Lawrence Huntington
    • Josephine Tey
  • Stars
    • Michael Denison
    • Dulcie Gray
    • Anthony Nicholls
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    455
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Lawrence Huntington
    • Writers
      • Robert Hall
      • Lawrence Huntington
      • Josephine Tey
    • Stars
      • Michael Denison
      • Dulcie Gray
      • Anthony Nicholls
    • 18User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Top cast32

    Edit
    Michael Denison
    Michael Denison
    • Robert Blair
    Dulcie Gray
    Dulcie Gray
    • Marion Sharpe
    Anthony Nicholls
    Anthony Nicholls
    • Kevin McDermott
    Marjorie Fielding
    Marjorie Fielding
    • Mrs. Sharpe
    Athene Seyler
    Athene Seyler
    • Aunt Lin
    John Bailey
    John Bailey
    • Detective Inspector Grant
    Ann Stephens
    Ann Stephens
    • Betty Kane
    Hy Hazell
    Hy Hazell
    • Mrs. Chadwick
    Kenneth More
    Kenneth More
    • Stanley Peters
    Avice Landone
    Avice Landone
    • Mrs. Wynn
    Maureen Glynne
    • Rose Glynn
    Peter Jones
    Peter Jones
    • Bernard Chadwick
    Moultrie Kelsall
    Moultrie Kelsall
    • Judge
    Martin Boddey
    Martin Boddey
    • Police Inspector Hallam
    Patrick Troughton
    Patrick Troughton
    • Bill Brough
    Hugh Moxey
    Hugh Moxey
    • Counsel for Prosecution
    John Warwick
    John Warwick
    • Carley
    Ernest Jay
    • Ramsden
    • Director
      • Lawrence Huntington
    • Writers
      • Robert Hall
      • Lawrence Huntington
      • Josephine Tey
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    7.1455
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    7blanche-2

    based on a Josephine Tey novel

    Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray (real life husband and wife for 60 years!) star in "The Franchise Affair" from 1951.

    This film is based on a novel by Josephine Tey, which I read years ago and remember very well. The movie is a good adaptation.

    The first scene shows a dishelved, bruised young woman, Betty Kane (Ann Stephens) who runs to her home in the dark after exiting a bus.

    Denison plays Robert Blair, a British solicitor who is approached by Marion Sharpe, who lives with her mother (Marjorie Fielding) in a large house called The Franchise. The young woman is question is accusing Marion and her mother of holding her prisoner for several weeks and forcing her to work for them.

    Betty had been visiting a relative and seems to have overstayed, but when her mother contacts the relative, Betty had already left. So where was she? And with whom?

    Marion is fighting to remain calm, but it's terrifying. Betty knows all kinds of details about the grounds that she could not have seen from a bus, for instance, and describes the room where she was kept in perfect detail.

    Though Blair doesn't take criminal cases, he's sympathetic toward the womens' plight and agrees to help. The women have to handle hate mail, hate phone calls, and rocks through their windows. Blair asks the local garage man for help, and he agrees to stay in the house.

    Meanwhile, Blair is desperate to get some evidence against Betty Kane. He believes the Sharpes.

    Very good movie with Kenneth More in a smaller role as the garage mechanic.

    Very entertaining.
    8Yellit

    Very good adaption of a leading novel

    I was drawn to this by its top-rank cast and I was glad that I stayed with it. It sets out its stall in the first 15/20 minutes and it it is one of those 'who do you beleive' type of thrillers. It dips somewhat in the middle (the Kenneth More character is entirely superfluous) but once it reaches the court scenes the satisfactory tying-up of its diverse plot lines is excellent and example of how these things should be done.
    6VADigger

    Entertaining, not memorable

    A young girl reappears after a two week absence with a fantastic story of having been held captive by two women in an isolated house. The police seem disinclined to investigate deeply, so it is up to the women's lawyer to uncover the truth.

    The movie is extraordinarily faithful to the book; indeed, entire pages of dialogue are transferred to the screen. The biggest change is in the nature of how the truth is disclosed, which is both tidier and more believable in the film.

    The story is less a mystery than a character study, and in this the film falls flat. The most interesting character, the girl, is almost an aside. A section of the book that outlines her background and fills out her story has been dropped, and the film is poorer for that.

    Still, you're likely to find it an intriguing film, if not one you'll rush to see again.
    6richardchatten

    The Girl in the Green Hat

    A reasonably faithful adaptation of Josephine Tey's 1948 novel based on an actual case of alleged kidnapping nearly two hundred years earlier; but also all too common unfortunately in the twenty-first century.

    It begins rather like 'Kiss Me Deadly' with a flimsily dressed young woman thumbing a lift at night, while the mob violence unleashed against the two 'outsiders' recalls 'Le Corbeau'. But for the most part it's content to amble along without much sense of urgency as you scratch your head pondering over the 'why' rather than the 'what'?
    8adrianovasconcelos

    Excellent unusual film noir; superb Denison performance

    To my chagrin, I know nothing about Director Lawrence Huntington. After watching THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, the keener my regret about my ignorance.

    THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, a fine novel by Josephine Tey, is competently, classily and unpretentiously transposed to the silver screen by Huntington and Robert Hall, relying to a considerable extent on a superior performance from the male lead, Michael Denison - about whom, equally regrettably, I know just as little.

    That said, Denison and female lead Dulcie Gray were married in real life, and certainly you feel a stable and solid connection between them (their marriage lasted over 60 years).

    Very good support performances from the elderly and highly dignified Marjorie Fielding, a very young Kenneth More as a mechanic, the beautiful Hy Hazell as the key witness. The only performance I found wanting was that of Ann Stephens as Betty, the mendacious accuser, but perhaps the fault also lies with her part which, in my view, should have made her motivations more clear.

    Excellent cinematography by Günther Krampf and editing by Clifford Boote.

    Definitely worth watching - more than once, too! 8/10.

    More like this

    Home at Seven
    6.7
    Home at Seven
    Portrait of Alison
    6.4
    Portrait of Alison
    The Late Edwina Black
    6.6
    The Late Edwina Black
    Le déserteur
    6.7
    Le déserteur
    The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
    6.2
    The Man Who Wouldn't Talk
    Voyage interrompu
    6.7
    Voyage interrompu
    Un inspecteur vous demande
    7.5
    Un inspecteur vous demande
    Le criminel aux abois
    6.8
    Le criminel aux abois
    La Femme en robe de chambre
    7.3
    La Femme en robe de chambre
    La nuit où mon destin s'est joué
    7.0
    La nuit où mon destin s'est joué
    L'assassin a de l'humour
    6.3
    L'assassin a de l'humour
    Winslow contre le roi
    7.6
    Winslow contre le roi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Sharpe: [entering a coffee-shop, scandalizing the other customers] We've just flown in on our broomsticks for a cup of hot blood.

    • Connections
      Version of The Franchise Affair (1962)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ13

    • How long is The Franchise Affair?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 28, 1952 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Дело о похищении
    • Filming locations
      • Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 28m(88 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.