''Doctor Morelle'' (also known as ''Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress'') is a 1949 British second feature ('B')

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

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'' ...

, Julia Lang, Peter Drury and

Hugh Griffith Hugh Emrys Griffith (30 May 1912 – 14 May 1980) was a Welsh actor. Described by BFI Screenonline as a "wild-eyed, formidable character player", Griffith appeared in more than 100 theatre, film, and television productions in a career that spa ...

. Made by

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

, it was written by Ambrose Grayson and

Roy Plomley Francis Roy Plomley ( ; 20 January 1914 – 28 May 1985) was an English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. He is best remembered for creating the BBC Radio series ''Desert Island Discs'', which he hosted from its inception in ...

, based on Wilfred Burr's stage play and

Ernest Dudley Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen (23 July 1908 – 1 February 2006), known professionally as Ernest Dudley, was an English actor, dramatist, novelist, journalist and screenwriter. Biography Personal life Vivian Ernest Coltman-Allen was born in ...

's long-running

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

series, which had originally starred

Dennis Arundell Dennis Drew Arundell OBE (22 July 1898 – 10 December 1988)"Arundell, Denni ...

and then

Heron Carvic Heron Carvic (born Geoffrey Richard William Harris; 21 January 1913 – 9 February 1980) was an English actor and writer who provided the voice for Gandalf in the BBC Radio version of ''The Hobbit'', and played Caiaphas the High Priest every ti ...

. This was the first film Hammer produced at their Cookham Dean studio, and in 1958, when Hammer celebrated their tenth anniversary, they showed a print of ''Doctor Morelle'', citing it as the first real Hammer Film. In addition to writing the radio series, Ernest Dudley also wrote many novels and short stories featuring the character of Morelle. In 1949, Hammer had intended to produce a series of Dr. Morelle films, but Dudley wouldn't allow it, since in 1949 he was planning on producing the films himself. The film is today considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

Plot

Private detective Doctor Morelle, who is intrigued by a case of a wealthy young woman named Cynthia Mason who has mysteriously vanished, visits her gloomy mansion to investigate. His secretary Miss Frayle poses as a maid and gets Bensall the butler to help her investigate two possible suspects, the missing girl's stepfather Samuel Kimber and her paramour Peter Lorrimer. Bensall is murdered along the way, and Miss Frayle is rescued from being buried alive by Dr. Morelle, who manages to reveal who killed Cynthia Mason.

Cast

as Doctor Morelle * Peter Drury as Peter Lorrimer *

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

Jean Lodge Jean Margaret Lodge (born 4 August 1927) is a retired 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 W ...

as Cynthia Mason * Philip Leaver as Samuel Kimber *

Sidney Vivian Sidney Vivian (18 April 1901 – 22 December 1984) was a British stage, film and television actor. Selected filmography Film appearances * ''Dick Barton Strikes Back'' (1949) - Inspector Burke * '' Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heir ...

as Inspector *

James Raglan James Raglan (6 January 1901 – 15 November 1961) was a British stage, film and television actor. In Australia Early in 1935 he was brought out to Australia with the Gabriel Toyne company by J. C. Williamson, playing ''Laburnum Grove'' and ...

* Bruce Walker

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: "Although the surprise ending provides a gleam of interest, the film as a whole is built on such a mass of absurdities as to be beyond all plausibility. Valentine Dyall brings his imposing presence and intense manner to bear upon the part of Dr. Morelle with good effect, whilst Julia Lang is sufficiently witless as Miss Frayle. The eerie effect produced by lighting and photography is the film's best feature." The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' 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." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Good radio characters wasted in story built on absurdities." ''

Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

'' 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 English-language mystery films Films scored by Frank Spencer {{1940s-UK-film-stub