''Inquest'' is a 1931

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

mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...

written by

Michael Barringer Michael Barringer was a British writer, screenwriter and playwright. He also occasionally served as film director, directing four films early in his career. His play ''Inquest'' was the first performed at the Windmill Theatre when it opened in 193 ...

. It was first staged as the

Windmill Theatre The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude ''tableaux vivants'', which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians of t ...

's first performance in 1931, and was later adapted into films in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

. {{cite web, url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/37636 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114111336/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/37636 , url-status=dead , archive-date=2009-01-14 , title=BFI | Film & TV Database | INQUEST (1940) , publisher=Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk , date=2009-04-16 , accessdate=2010-03-12 A young widow is suspected or murdering her husband by the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

. To prove her innocence she enlists the help of a leading

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

, who reluctantly agrees to assist her but soon becomes convinced of her innocence. Together they hunt down the real murderer.

References

1931 plays British plays