''The Case of Charles Peace'' (also known as ''The Trials of Charley Peace'' and ''Trials of Charles Peace'') is a 1949 British

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Norman Lee Norman Lee (10 October 1898 – 2 June 1964) was a British screenwriter and film director. Selected filmography * '' The Lure of the Atlantic'' (1929) * '' The Streets of London'' (1929) * '' Night Patrol'' (1930, documentary) * '' Doctor J ...

and starring

Michael Martin Harvey Michael Martin Harvey (birth registered as Jack Seaforth Harvey, baptised as Jack Seaforth Elton Harvey, 18 April 1897 – 30 June 1975) was an English actor. He was the son of the stage actor/manager Sir John Martin-Harvey and brother of actress ...

Chili Bouchier Chili Bouchier (born Dorothy Irene Boucher; 12 September 1909 – 9 September 1999) was an English film actress who achieved success during the silent film era, and went on to many screen appearances with the advent of sound films, before progre ...

and

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

. The screenplay was by Lee and Doris Davison, based on the real-life Victorian murderer

Charles Peace Charles Peace (14 May 1832 – 25 February 1879) was an English burglar and murderer, who embarked on a life of crime after being maimed in an industrial accident as a boy. After killing a policeman in Manchester, he fled to his native Sheff ...

Plot

The story of the nineteenth century burglar and murderer Charles Peace is told in flashback in a lecture by Sir Clement Barnes KC at Hendon Police College: Peace's murder of Arthur Dyson, his subsequent false identities, his career as a burglar, and his shooting of a policeman. For these crimes he is eventually arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by hanging.

Cast

as Katherine Dyson *

as Storyteller Sir Clement Barnes KC *

Bruce Belfrage Bruce Belfrage (30 October 1900 – August 1974) was an English actor and BBC radio newsreader.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr Bruce Belfrage'', 17 August 1974, p.14 He was casting director at the BBC between 1936 and 1939, and founded th ...

as prosecution counsel Foster *

Ronald Adam Ronald Adam may refer to: * Ronald Forbes Adam, British Army officer * Ronald Adam (actor), actor, theatre director and RAF officer See also * Ron Adam Ron Adam (December 16, 1933 – October 27, 2014) was a Canadian football quarterback w ...

as defence counsel Lockwood * Roberta Huby as Sue Thompson * Peter Forbes-Robertson as William Habron * Kathleen Rooney as Mary * Richard Shayne as Arthur Dyson * Jean Shepeard as Hannah Peace * John Kelly as Father O'Brien *

Peter Gawthorne Peter Gawthorne (1 September 1884 – 17 March 1962) was an Anglo-Irish actor, probably best known for his roles in the films of Will Hay and other popular British comedians of the 1930s and 1940s. Gawthorne was one of Britain's most called-up ...

as Mr. Justice Lopes *

Hamilton Deane Hamilton Deane (2 December 1879 – 25 October 1958) was an Irish actor, playwright and director. He played a key role in popularising Bram Stoker's 1897 novel ''Dracula'' as a 1924 stage play and a 1931 film. Biography Deane was born in Ne ...

as Mr. Justice Hawkins * Robert McLachlan as Mr. Justice Lindley * Gordon Court as Inspector Phillips *

Bartlett Mullins Bartlett Mullins (13 August 1904 – 15 May 1992) was a British actor. Career He is best remembered by British TV viewers as Mr Clough ''"Cloughie"'', Bob and Terry's workmate in the sitcom ''The Likely Lads''. He also appeared on episodes of ' ...

as Mr. Brion * Rose Howlett as Mrs. Brion *

Liam Gaffney Liam Gaffney (22 June 1911 – July 1994) was an Irish stage, film and television actor. His stage work included appearances with Dublin's Abbey Theatre, and in London's West End. Selected filmography * '' Irish and Proud of It'' (1936) * ''Ma ...

as Leresche * Howard Douglas as Littlewood * Edward Evans as Police Sergeant (uncredited)

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Apart from too many flashbacks within flashbacks, which are apt to confuse, this is a well-made, interesting and wholly absorbing film of an authentic story based on records of British justice. Much of the films success is due to Michael Martin-Harvey's brilliant characterisation of the eccentric, Jekyll and Hyde-like Peace. Chili Bouchier makes a successful come-back as Katherine, and heads an adequate supporting cast." ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "Michael Martin-Harvey, mincing and menacing in turn, does a sound acting job as Charlie Peace. Chili Bouchier, Jean Shepeard and Roberta Huby are slightly less effective as Mrs. Dyson, Mrs. Peace and Sue Thompson, respectively." '' Picture Show'' wrote: "Thoroughly entertaining within its modest limits is this reconstruction of the amazing career of Charles Peace ... Michael Martin-Harvey gives a compelling prformance as the sinister little man." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Good central performance holds the attention."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Case of Charles Peace, The 1949 films 1949 crime films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Norman Lee British black-and-white films British crime films 1940s British films English-language crime films