The Riverside Murder (1935)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Albert Parker

Writers:

Selwyn Jepson (writer)
Leslie Landau (writer)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Cast

Basil Sydney	...	Inspector Winton
Judy Gunn	...	Claire Harris
Alastair Sim	...	Sergeant McKay
Tom Helmore	...	Jerome
Ian Fleming	...	Sanders
Reginald Tate	...	Perrin
Martin Lewis	...	Gregg
Aubrey Mallalieu	...	Norman
Zoe Davis	...	Mrs. Harris

Directed by
Albert Parker

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Selwyn Jepson		writer
Leslie Landau		writer

Film Editing by
Reginald Beck

Art Direction by
Ralph W. Brinton

Sound Department
John Cox	....	sound recordist

Production Companies

• Fox Film Company

Distributors

• Fox Film Company (1935) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sinister Cinema (2001) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

64 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Fox Film Company

Really good murder mystery that has the sort of characters and dialog that would make the film worth seeing even if the mystery wasn't as good as it is

A rich man is killed in his home. There appears to be no reason for the murder, however there are several suspects: the house keeper, two house guests and a mysterious woman who left just before the murder. The Police dispatch two detectives to take charge of the case and it soon transpires that there is ample reason for numerous people to bump off the dead man.

This is one of those mystery movies that you'd watch even if the mystery wasn't good simply because the characters are so much fun to watch. The detectives in this case are Basil Sydney and Alastair Sim and they make a fine team. Sydney is a charming detective with a slightly smart ass style. Watch how he deals with the small child who's lost his mother, its very funny. Sim is his second and is typically a bit of a bumbler, but nicely he is not a complete idiot. Mistakes are made but more often then not they are honest ones.

The mystery is a good one with the murder having no apparent motive, then suddenly taking on a motive and then turning and twisting as suspects come and go. The plot moves rapidly and we actually get a decent reason why everyone is cooped up in the house where the murder takes place, the side trips outside the crime scenes confines are also logical. I'm also pretty sure that the movie plays fair with the solution, or at least mostly fair (I'm not quite sure because I was tired when I watched this and may have missed something.) This is a grand little movie that seems to have been unjustly lost to the ages. Its a sterling little mystery thats almost in an Agatha Christie sort of way, which isn't surprising since the film is based on a mystery novel of Christie's heyday. This is a movie to search out and find. Its a movie that belongs in your video player while you have a bag of popcorn and a soda.

8 out of 10.