''Death at Broadcasting House'', also known as ''Death at a Broadcast'', is a 1934

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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

directed by

Reginald Denham Reginald Denham (10 January 1894 – 4 February 1983) was an English writer, theatre and film director, actor and film producer. Biography Reginald H. F. Denham was born in London, England, in 1894. He spent a good part of his career dire ...

and starring Ian Hunter,

Austin Trevor Claude Austin Trevor Schilsky (7 October 1897 – 22 January 1978) was an Irish actor who had a long career in film and television. He played the parson in John Galsworthy's ''Escape (play), Escape'' at the world premiere in London's West ...

, Henry Kendall, and

Jack Hawkins John Edward Hawkins, CBE (14 September 1910 – 18 July 1973) was an English actor who worked on stage and in film from the 1930s until the 1970s. One of the most popular British film stars of the 1950s, he was known for his portrayal of mili ...

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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's new broadcasting centre,

Broadcasting House London 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. T ...

. It was written in 1934 by

Val Gielgud Val Henry Gielgud CBE (28 April 1900 – 30 November 1981) was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of te ...

– brother of

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

and at that time the BBC's Head of Productions – and "Holt Marvell" - actually

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, 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, ...

, 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 Sir Donald Wolfit (born Donald Woolfitt; 20 April 1902 – 17 February 1968) was an English actor-manager, known for his touring productions of Shakespeare. He was especially renowned for his portrayal of King Lear. Born to a conventional midd ...

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 Lord Northcliffe. He was a p ...

, Gillie Potter,

Elisabeth Welch Elisabeth Margaret Welch (February 27, 1904July 15, 2003) was an American singer, actress, and entertainer, whose career spanned seven decades. Her best-known songs were " Stormy Weather", " Love for Sale" and "Far Away in Shanty Town". She was ...

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 *

as Leopold Dryden *

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

as Joan Dryden * Henry Kendall as Rodney Fleming *

as Julian Caird *

Peter Haddon Peter Haddon (31 March 1898 – 7 September 1962) was an English actor. Personal life Haddon was born Peter Haddon Tildsley in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. He was the son of Alfred and Mary Tildsley; he had a brother, Vincent Harvey (born 1894), ...

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 Yo ...

as Poppy Levine *

as Herbert Evans *

as Sydney Parsons *

Robert Rendel Robert Rendel (2 December 1884 in St Mary Abbots Kensington, London – 9 May 1944 in Marylebone, London) was a British actor of stage, screen, television and radio. Career His stage work included roles in the original Broadway productions of S ...

as Sir Herbert Farquharson *

Bruce Lester Bruce Lester (6 June 1912 – 13 June 2008) was a South African-born English film actor with over 60 screen appearances to his credit between 1934 and his retirement from acting in 1958. Lester's career divided into two distinct periods. Betwe ...

as Peter Ridgewell

Adaptations

It was adapted for Australian radio as ''

Murder at 2FC ''Murder at 2FC'' is a 1935 Australian radio play by Edmund Barclay. It was an adaptation of the British film ''Death at Broadcasting House'' with the action relocated to Australia - specially at the Sydney radio station 2FC run by the Australian ...

''.

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 English-language mystery films {{mystery-film-stub