Three Cases of Murder

Three Cases of Murder is a 1955 British horror omnibus film comprising three stories: "The Picture," "You Killed Elizabeth," and "Lord Mountdrago." Eamonn Andrews introduces each. Alan Badel appears in all three.[2]

Three Cases of Murder
Directed byDavid Eady
George More O'Ferrall
Wendy Toye
Orson Welles (uncredited)
Produced byIan Dalrymple
Alexander Paal
Written bySidney Carroll
Ian Dalrymple
Donald B. Wilson
StarringAlan Badel
Orson Welles
John Gregson
André Morell
Music byDoreen Carwithen
CinematographyGeorges Périnal
Production
company
Wessex Film Productions
Distributed byLondon Films
Release date
  • 15 March 1955 (1955-03-15) (US)
  • May 1955 (1955-05) (UK)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£250,000[1]

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast
  • Peter Burton as Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
  • Philip Dale as Sgt. Mallot (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
  • Christina Forrest as Susan (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
  • Evelyn Hall as Lady Connemara (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
  • Ann Hanslip as The Girl (segment "In the Picture")
  • David Horne as Sir James (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
  • John Humphry as Private Secretary (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
  • Maurice Kaufmann as Pemberton (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
  • Jack Lambert as Inspector Acheson ("You Killed Elizabeth" segment)
  • Zena Marshall as Beautiful Blonde (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
  • John Salew as Rooke ("In the Picture" segment)
  • Harry Welchman as Connoisseur (segment "In the Picture")
  • Colette Wilde as Jane (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
  • Arthur Wontner as Leader of the House (segment "Lord Mountdrago")

Uncredited/Cameo cast

Production

The first and third stories deal with the supernatural. In the first, "In the Picture", a museum worker enters one of the pictures in a gallery. In the second, "You Killed Elizabeth", two friends fall in love with the same woman. In the third, "Lord Mountdrago", a dramatization of a short story by W. Somerset Maugham from his collection The Mixture as Before, a politician seeks revenge on a political opponent by entering his dreams.

Wendy Toye directed "In the Picture"; David Eady, "You Killed Elizabeth"; and George More O'Ferrall, "Lord Mountdrago." [3]

Orson Welles received top billing, but he appears only in "Lord Mountdrago". According to Patrick Macnee, who had a supporting role, Welles began making suggestions to director George More O'Ferrall throughout the first day of filming, and by the third day he had taken over the direction of the entire segment.[4]

Reception

The presence of Orson Welles in the cast meant the film was released in the US before the UK.[2] The film was turned down for exhibition in the UK by both the Rank and Associated British chains.[1] They claimed that the film was mediocre and that Welles was not a big enough box office draw to compensate for this.[5]

References
  1. "Orson Welles film rejected". The Sun (13, 890). New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1954. p. 55 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 1 October 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951-70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 24-27
  3. The Times, "Three Cases Of Murder" Film Short Stories 16 May 1955
  4. Patrick Macnee, Blind in One Ear (London, 1988)
  5. ""Wonder Boy" Welles". The Newcastle Sun (11, 277). New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1954. p. 27. Retrieved 1 October 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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