''A Question of Suspense'' is a low budget 1961 British black and white

crime drama 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 ...

"B" film directed by

Max Varnel Max Varnel (21 March 1925 – 15 January 1996) was a French-born Australian film director, film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom and Australia. Biography Born Max Le Bozec in Paris, France, he was the son of the ...

and starring Peter Reynolds,

Noelle Middleton Evelyn Noelle Woodeson (née Middleton; 18 December 1926 – 30 January 2016) was an Irish actress and one of the first BBC television announcers. She was also a leading lady of the 1950s British films. Middleton received a BAFTA Film Award no ...

and

Yvonne Buckingham Yvonne Buckingham (born 1937) is an English actress who appeared in a number of minor or background roles on episodes of British television series or in British films. She played the title role, though only briefly appearing as the deceased vi ...

. It was written by

Lawrence Huntington Lawrence Huntington (9 March 1900 – 1968) was a UK, British film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer. Huntington was born in London on 9 March 1900, he directed more than thirty films following his debut feature ''After Many Year ...

from a story by Roy Vickers. It was one of several crime films starring Reynolds.

Plot

Tellman Drew is a businessman who has deposited £30,000 worth of forged bonds with his bank. When his chief clerk and childhood friend Frank Brigstock discovers the fraud, Drew offers him a partnership in his business, but lures him to a lonely spot by the coast and murders him and buries his body. Drew persuades the police that it was Frank who had been behind the scam and has absconded. Rose Marples, who has been living with Frank as his wife, and has known both men since her youth, is not convinced. She begins her own investigation, ultimately discovering the burial site and bringing about Drew's demise.

Cast

* Peter Reynolds as Tellman Drew *

as Rose Marples *

as Jean Forbes *

Norman Rodway Norman John Frank Rodway (7 February 1929 – 13 March 2001) was an Anglo-Irish actor. Early life Rodway was born at the family home, Elsinore (named after the castle where Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' is set), on Coliemore Road, Dalkey, Dublin ...

as Frank Brigstock * James Neylin as Inspector Hunter *

Pauline Delaney Pauline Delaney (8 June 1925 – 15 January 2007) was an Irish theatre, television and film actress. Early life Delaney was born in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, one of the two children of Kathleen (née Loughrey) and Frank Delaney, a Gu ...

as Mrs. Barlow (as Pauiline Delany) * Anne Mulvey as Sally * Peter Dix as Det. Sergent White * Fergus Cogley as bank manager * Dennis Franks as estate agent * John Hoey as hall porter

Critical reception

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 ...

'' said "Thinly scripted murder-and-revenge melodrama, unexceptionally directed and working up to a tidy climax which was never in doubt for a moment." ''The Daily Cinema'' noted on 26 June 1961 that the film "concentrates its drama on the characters and what makes them tick."

Production

The 1968 ''Report of the Film Industry Committee'' shows that the Irish Film Finance Corporation had invested in the production of the film. It was made at

Ardmore Studios Ardmore Studios, in Bray, County Wicklow, is Ireland's oldest film studio. It opened in 1958 under the management of Emmet Dalton and Louis Elliman. Since then, it has evolved through many managements and owners. It has been the base for man ...

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

in Ireland. Although set in England, external scenes were filmed around

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 22,009, according to the 2022 census. The town is border ...

, including Frank Brigstock going to work on a

CIÉ , or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic of Ireland and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Hold ...

(Córas Iompair Éireann – Irish Transport Company) bus.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Question of Suspense 1961 films British mystery films British crime drama films Films directed by Max Varnel 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films scored by Wilfred Burns