Three Cases of Murder (1955)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

David Eady
George More O'Ferrall

Writers:

Sidney Carroll (segment)
Ian Dalrymple (segment)

Release Date:

12 May 1955 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama | Horror

Plot:

Three stories of murder and the supernatural. In the first, a museum worker is introduced to a world behind the pictures he sees every day...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Anthology | Art

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
John Gregson	...	Edgar Curtain ("You Killed Elizabeth" segment)
Elizabeth Sellars	...	Elizabeth ("You Killed Elizabeth" segment)
Emrys Jones	...	George Wheeler ("You Killed Elizabeth" segment)
Alan Badel	...	Owen (segment "Lord Mountdrago") / Mr. X (segment "In the Picture") / Harry (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
André Morell	...	Dr. Audlin ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Hugh Pryse	...	Jarvis ("The Picture" segment)
Leueen MacGrath	...	Woman in the House ("In the Picture" segment)
Eddie Byrne	...	Snyder ("The Picture" segment)
Helen Cherry	...	Lady Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Eamonn Andrews	...	Introductions
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Burton	...	Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
Philip Dale	...	Sgt. Mallot (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
Christina Forrest	...	Susan (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
Evelyn Hall	...	Lady Connemara (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
Ann Hanslip	...	The Girl (segment "In the Picture")
David Horne	...	Sir James (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
John Humphry	...	Private Secretary (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Pemberton (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
Jack Lambert	...	Inspector Acheson ("You Killed Elizabeth" segment)
Zena Marshall	...	Beautiful Blonde (segment "Lord Mountdrago")
John Salew	...	Rooke ("The Picture" segment)
Harry Welchman	...	Connoisseur (segment "In the Picture")
Colette Wilde	...	Jane (segment "You Killed Elizabeth")
Arthur Wontner	...	Leader of the House (segment "Lord Mountdrago")

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Wessex Film Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Last film of Harry Welchman.

Movie Connections:

Version of "W. Somerset Maugham: Lord Mountdrago (#1.8)" (1969)

One of the best horror films ever made!

I was first introduced to this film in a British Cinema class I took at the College of Santa Fe and it's haunted me ever since! Despite what the box claims, Orson Wells has a small part in the and of the film... but the real star is Alan Badel. The first segment, "In the Picture," deals with a museum attendant who's paintings have a real, and sinister, life of their own. The second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," is not supernatural, and probably the film's dullest installment, but has some good character to it. The final segment, which shows Badel at his absolute evilest, "Lord Mountdrago," has Wells and Badel as political adversaries, and Wells' murderous dreams become real. Of all the small obscure murder mystery / horror gems to go unnoticed from Britain this is certainly the one I wish would receive more attention. It is chilling (my favorite segment remains "In the Picture"), well acted, and brilliantly scripted. Rent it if you find it at your video store! Watch it if it (miraculously) appears on television! Or simply go out and buy it (you won't regret it!). If you want to see the BEST horror anthology film ever, look no further than THREE CASES OF MURDER.