London, 1902. Charles Laughton's wife Rosalind Ivan (terrifying) is so horrible that their son Dean Harens leaves home. Feeling estranged, Laughton befriends a young woman, Ella Raines, and they begin to visit Chinese and Italian restaurants. (According to londonplanner.com, the first Chinese restaurant in London was opened in 1909, though The Gentleman's Journal notes that E. Pellici opened in 1900. Anyway, back to the film.) Ivan finds out and threatens to inform her and his employers, thus ruining both of them - what a horrible cow! So that leaves him only one option, an option we don't actually see him carry out...
The death leads to investigation by genial Scotland Yard detective Stanley Ridges, who in the film's best scene demonstrates how the murder could have taken place - this is first class film making. I'm not sure he could make the case stick, but just to be sure, Laughton marries the young woman because - well he wants to, but also so she can't testify.
Then Laughton's neighbour Henry Daniell blackmails him and so must be disposed of. Cue the scene where friends return from an aborted seaside trip and one of them thinks she's been touched by the dead body and Harens investigates under the sofa... and Laughton's look, thinking he's about to be exposed... so good... but the young man finds only a kitten. Great stuff.
Molly Lamont good as Daniell's battered wife.
A Universal film, screenwritten by Bertrand Millhauser, Arthur Horman having adapted James Ronald's novel. Frank Skinner scored, Paul Ivano is on camera.
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| I love this shot. Apart from the intimacy of it, it works simply because he's behind her. It wouldn't have been nearly as good if they were sat side by side |
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| "Is it too revealing?" |
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| Something about this image made me think of Black Forest gateau |
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| The low angle and the near darkness makes this somewhat spooky |
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