''Death at Broadcasting House'', also known as ''Death at a Broadcast'', is a 1934 British mystery film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, Henry Kendall, and Jack Hawkins.

Novel

The original plot comes from a novel of the same name, set in what was then the mysterious world of radio in what was then the BBC's new broadcasting centre,

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...

. It was written in 1934 by Val Gielgud – brother of John Gielgud and at that time the BBC's Head of Productions – and "Holt Marvell" - actually

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and desc ...

, a lyricist and writer for films and the BBC.

Film

In the same year, it was made into the film, directed by Reginald Denham, with Ian Hunter (best known as King Richard I in the 1938 '' Adventures of Robin Hood'') as the detective, Donald Wolfit as the murder victim, and Val Gielgud himself as the drama producer, Julian Caird. The film sticks closely to the plot of the book, but is lighter in tone, and capitalizes on the glamour of broadcasting by including a number of cameo appearances by radio stars, among them

Hannen Swaffer Frederick Charles Hannen Swaffer (1 November 1879 – 16 January 1962) was an English journalist and drama critic. Although his views were left-wing, he worked mostly for right-wing publications, many of them owned by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Visco ...

Gillie Potter Hugh William Peel (14 September 1887 – 4 March 1975), better known as Gillie Potter, was an English comedian and broadcaster. Life He was born in Bedford to Brignal Peel (died 1933), a Wesleyan minister, and Elizabeth Stimson. He was educate ...

, Elisabeth Welch and

Percival Mackey Thomas Percival Montague Mackey (1 June 1894 – 23 November 1950) was a British pianist, composer and bandleader. He is particularly known for his work as a composer and musical director for films during the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Mac ...

. During the investigation, the detective uses a recording of the radio programme during which the murder occurred, and he refers to the "Blattnerphone", one of the first sound-recording machines, and one of which had actually been installed at Broadcasting House in March 1932.

Cast

* Ian Hunter as Detective Inspector Gregory * Austin Trevor as Leopold Dryden *

Lilian Oldland Lilian Mary Oldland (7 February 1903 – 29 September 1984) was an English actress who appeared in more than twenty films between 1925 and 1935. Born in Gloucester in 1903, she made her film debut in '' The Secret Kingdom'' and was soon cast as ...

as Joan Dryden * Henry Kendall as Rodney Fleming * Val Gielgud as Julian Caird * Peter Haddon as Guy Bannister *

Betty Ann Davies Betty Ann Davies (24 December 1910 – 14 May 1955) was a British stage and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1950s. Davies made her first stage appearance at the Palladium in a revue in 1924. The following year she joined Cochran's Youn ...

as Poppy Levine * Jack Hawkins as Herbert Evans * Donald Wolfit as Sydney Parsons * Robert Rendel as Sir Herbert Farquharson * Bruce Lester as Peter Ridgewell

References

External links

* 1934 films British mystery films 1934 mystery films Films based on British novels Films directed by Reginald Denham Films set in London British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{mystery-film-stub