I'm inserting reviews of all films I've seen that so far are lacking one, this is a rare occasion where I can recommend one of these obscurities, review follows.... Hammer thriller, based on a BBC radio serial, the Rev S.Cherry is on his way to the west country, his car breaks down & he has to stay the night at a country house, just as a suspicious death occurs! I got a copy from a collector in the USA, it had been sourced from a screening on C4 in the UK, unfortunately it was in poor condition, and the end was missing; if you get a chance, give it a look and post a more informative review, it's worth a look. Need 10 lines re odd IMDb rules, so will simply comment that the director Godfrey Grayson directed a few films for Hammer in a short 3 year period from 1949 to 1951.
6 Reviews
Good mystery
hwg1957-102-26570423 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
'Meet Simon Cherry' derives from the BBC radio series 'Meet The Rev' is about a vicar in the East End of London who gets involved with crimes. In this film version he takes a break from his parish work to visit his sister when he breaks down (that is his car does) near a country house and we have a regular country house mystery where things are not what they seem. One of the daughters of the house dies and Simon Cherry is on hand to sort things out.
The house is a studio set so the film is quite stagey with the cast going in and out of the same rooms emoting. The acting is plain and simple. Hugh Moxey as Rev. Simon Cherry is a bit dull but comforting as a pair of old socks. Nobody really stands out in the rest of the cast. The story is logical and all the bits of mystery are explained nicely in the end, some of which actually took me by surprise which is a mark of a good mystery story.
This was an early Hammer production before they got caught up in vampires and monsters. If you like this kind of thing it is a good watch.
The house is a studio set so the film is quite stagey with the cast going in and out of the same rooms emoting. The acting is plain and simple. Hugh Moxey as Rev. Simon Cherry is a bit dull but comforting as a pair of old socks. Nobody really stands out in the rest of the cast. The story is logical and all the bits of mystery are explained nicely in the end, some of which actually took me by surprise which is a mark of a good mystery story.
This was an early Hammer production before they got caught up in vampires and monsters. If you like this kind of thing it is a good watch.
If You Don't Know The Radio Show, That Is
boblipton10 March 2019
Simon Cherry is a Church of England clergyman in the Docklands, known for his friendly manner to the locals and to the police for helping to solve crimes. He is in need of a vacation, so a friend lends him a clunker of a car. He drives and drives through the countryside of England until it breaks down during a storm. He takes refuge in the home of local lady Courtney Hope. He tries calling the local garage, but the lines are down, so he accepts the hospitality of the house, meets everyone except Zena Marshall, who is bedridden. That night, Miss Marshall dies. Is it murder?
Like other early Hammer films, it's based on a popular BBC radio show of the period, "Meet the Rev". Apparently the Reverend Mr. Cherry is a sort of cut-rate Father Brown. He gets involved in local murders and helps sort the situation, ending with a pious moral, as here.
The script, with a credit for the show's writer, Gale Pedrick, shows its origins with a voice-over near the beginning and an awful lot of talk, a bit more than is cinematic. Still, the players deal well enough with the script. If there are few big moments, it's a nice conceit to show various scenes from the characters' points of view. It's a decent enough programmer, although not good enough to make another movie.
Like other early Hammer films, it's based on a popular BBC radio show of the period, "Meet the Rev". Apparently the Reverend Mr. Cherry is a sort of cut-rate Father Brown. He gets involved in local murders and helps sort the situation, ending with a pious moral, as here.
The script, with a credit for the show's writer, Gale Pedrick, shows its origins with a voice-over near the beginning and an awful lot of talk, a bit more than is cinematic. Still, the players deal well enough with the script. If there are few big moments, it's a nice conceit to show various scenes from the characters' points of view. It's a decent enough programmer, although not good enough to make another movie.
More like a photographed radio play
malcolmgsw8 January 2018
It is little surprise that this film did not lead to a series.The film was very static and the narration became a serious impediment to any tension.Apart from that the main character seemed to do little detection WOR until the usual summary at the end.The cramped confines of Bray House made the film look even cheaper than it was.
A yawner
Leofwine_draca21 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
MEET SIMON CHERRY is one of many cheap mystery yarns that the newly-fledged Hammer Films shot in 1949. All seem to have been shot in the same old house and all share similar plots. This one features as its chief sleuth one Simon Cherry, who like Dr Morelle of the same year, only appeared to be a one-hit wonder. He's a crime-busting reverend tasked with investigating the mysterious death of an heiress at her country abode. A fairly big cast go through the motions in a tale which is stale and long-winded and simply not as mysterious as the others I've seen from the same year. Cherry himself is a dud and the final solution to the mystery is more than disappointing. This one's a yawner.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch Cherry Bomb.
southdavid16 December 2021
Another film watched for the "House of Hammer" podcast, "Meet Simon Cherry" is yet another early Hammer adaptation of a successful radio series, though one I hadn't heard of. It's transformed here into a middling film, one which had sections I enjoyed but large stretches that I did not.
The Reverend Simon Cherry (Hugh Moxey) takes leave from his Eastend Parrish to head to the Coast. When his car breaks down during a storm, he ends up at Harling Manor, where he's offered shelter and a room for the night. When Lisa (Zena Marshall), Lady Harling's (Courtney Hope) bedridden daughter is found dead, and the circumstances are suspicious, the amateur Detective Cherry takes it upon himself to find the killer.
To be clear, nobody asks him too. He just starts asking questions and everyone is too polite to ask him to leave. For a film that is just 67 minutes long, it takes quite a while to get to the death, and amongst various discussions about the weather I began to lose interest pretty quickly. I hung in there though, and was rewarded with the Rashomon section, exploring Lisa's relationship with Alan, played by Anthony Forwood, from the viewpoint of a couple of different characters. I wish more of the film had been like that.
The performances are OK and Hammer keep the cost down by only really shooting in two locations (and one of those is only a single scene). Another drag though was the score that, at least in the version I saw, swelled at the wrong moments and drowned out dialogue at times.
It's not the worst film I've watched to keep up with the podcast, but it's far from good.
The Reverend Simon Cherry (Hugh Moxey) takes leave from his Eastend Parrish to head to the Coast. When his car breaks down during a storm, he ends up at Harling Manor, where he's offered shelter and a room for the night. When Lisa (Zena Marshall), Lady Harling's (Courtney Hope) bedridden daughter is found dead, and the circumstances are suspicious, the amateur Detective Cherry takes it upon himself to find the killer.
To be clear, nobody asks him too. He just starts asking questions and everyone is too polite to ask him to leave. For a film that is just 67 minutes long, it takes quite a while to get to the death, and amongst various discussions about the weather I began to lose interest pretty quickly. I hung in there though, and was rewarded with the Rashomon section, exploring Lisa's relationship with Alan, played by Anthony Forwood, from the viewpoint of a couple of different characters. I wish more of the film had been like that.
The performances are OK and Hammer keep the cost down by only really shooting in two locations (and one of those is only a single scene). Another drag though was the score that, at least in the version I saw, swelled at the wrong moments and drowned out dialogue at times.
It's not the worst film I've watched to keep up with the podcast, but it's far from good.
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