''Doctor Morelle'' is a 1949 British

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

directed by

Godfrey Grayson Godfrey Ramsey H. Grayson (1913, Birkenhead, Cheshire – 1998, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey) was an English film director. Selected filmography * ''Doctor Morelle'' (1949) * ''Meet Simon Cherry'' (1949) * '' The Adventures of PC 49'' (1949) * ' ...

and starring

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'' ...

, Peter Drury and

Hugh Griffith Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh film, stage, and television actor. He is best remembered for his role in the film '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), which earned him critical acclaim and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acto ...

. It is also known by two alternative titles: ''Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress'' or simply ''The Case of the Missing Heiress''. It was made by Hammer Films, based on the popular long running

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

series written by Ernest Dudley and starring Cecil Parker. Dudley also wrote many novels and short stories featuring the character of Morelle.

Plot

Private detective Doctor Morelle, who is intrigued by a case of a wealthy young woman who has mysteriously vanished, visits her gloomy mansion to investigate...

Cast

– Doctor Morelle * Peter Drury – Peter Lorrimer *

– Bensall, the butler * Julia Lang – Miss Frayle *

Jean Lodge Jean Margaret Lodge (born 4 August 1927) is an English stage, film and television actress. Career In 1952 she appeared alongside Claude Hulbert in the West End in Constance Cox's ''Lord Arthur Savile's Crime''. In 1954 she starred in William ...

– Cynthia Mason * Philip Leaver – Samuel Kimber * Sidney Vivian – Inspector * James Raglan * Bruce Walker

Reception

The '' Radio Times'' noted "The first (and last) of an intended series based on a popular radio detective, this undistinguished B-feature murder mystery is typical of the early postwar output of Hammer before it discovered horror...Dyall has considerable presence but it's not enough to surmount the implausible plot" and '' Sky Movies'' wrote, "Each week from 1942 on, millions of radio listeners thrilled to the creepy adventures that presented 'the secret papers of perhaps the strangest personality in the history of criminal investigation'. The mysterious Dr Morelle and his always-in-peril Girl Friday, Miss Frayle, were a natural for films but, as with so many other popular radio sleuths, the British Cinema failed to do right by them even though the slightly sinister Valentine Dyall was perfect casting as the detective doctor."

References

External links

* 1949 films British mystery films 1949 mystery films Films directed by Godfrey Grayson Hammer Film Productions films British films based on plays Films based on radio series British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub