Mystery, Suspense, Film Noir and Detective Movies on DVD: A Guide to the Best in Cinema Thrills

John Howard Reid

at 2:34 pm

Despite what many movie fans firmly believe, film noir is not confined to Hollywood. Indeed the genre didn’t even originate in America but in Europe. Unfortunately a great many of the pre-WW2 productions that Hollywood was to imitate and copy during the war years are not yet available on DVD, but I did manage to track some of them down like Duvivier’s famous “Pepe le Moko” (1937), Brian Desmond Hurst’s “On the Night of the Fire” (1940). and G.W. Pabst’s “The Mistress of Atlantis” (1932). Also available on DVD are a surprisingly large number of British productions, although some titles are manufactured exclusively by USA distributors. Film noir, of course, is not confined to the murder mystery but takes in a much broader canvas. Here is just one of the well over 700 films detailed and described in my book:

THE WICKED LADY

Margaret Lockwood (Barbara Worth/Lady Skelton), James Mason (Captain Jerry Jackson), Patricia Roc (Caroline), Griffith Jones (Sir Ralph Skelton), Enid Stamp-Taylor (Lady Henrietta Kingsclere), Michael Rennie (Kit Locksby), Felix Aylmer (Hogarth, family retainer), David Horne (Martin Worth), Martita Hunt (Cousin Agatha Trimble), Amy Dalby (Aunt Doll), Beatrice Varley (Aunt Moll), Helen Goss (Mistress Betsy), Francis Lister (Lord Kingsclere), Emrys Jones (Ned Cotterill), Jean Kent (doxy), Muriel Aked (Mrs Munce), Aubrey Mallalieu (doctor), Ivor Barnard (clergyman), Peter Maddon (hawker).

Director: LESLIE ARLISS. Screenplay: Leslie Arliss. Based on the 1944 novel “The Life and Death of the Wicked Lady Skelton” by Magdalen King-Hall. Additional dialogue: Gordon Glennon, Aimee Stuart. Photography: Jack Cox. Film editor: Terence Fisher. Art director: John Bryan. Costumes: Elizabeth Haffenden. Make-up: W.T. Partleton. Music composed by Hans May, directed by Louis Levy. Song, “When Love Steals Your Heart”. Period advisor: Cyril Hartman. Literary editor: H. Ostrer. Production manager: Fred Gunn. Assistant director: Douglas Pierce. Sound supervisor: B.C. Sewell. British Acoustic Film Sound System. Producer: R.J. Minney. Executive producer: Maurice Ostrer.

Copyright 13 November 1946 by Universal Pictures Co, Inc. A Gainsborough Picture, presented by J. Arthur Rank, released in the U.S. through Universal-International: 12 December 1946. New York opening at the Winter Garden: 22 December 1946. U.K. release through Eagle Lion: 21 January 1946. Australian release through G-B-D/20th Century Fox: 5 September 1946. 9,605 feet. 106 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: England, 1637: A bored country wife disguises herself as the notorious highwayman Captain Jackson.

NOTES: The number one Top Boxoffice Attraction in 1946 in the U.K.

In a 1972 poll, second to “The Red Shoes” as the best British film ever.

James Mason, Best Actor of 1946 — Daily Mail National Film Award.

Margaret Lockwood, Best Actress of 1946 — Daily Mail Film Award.

Patricia Roc, 5th runner-up for Best Actress of 1946 — Daily Mail Awards.

Second to “Piccadilly Incident” as the Daily Mail’s Best British Film of 1946. (An astounding 2.5 million readers voted for each of the Daily Mail awards).

James Mason, Top Boxoffice Champion for 1946.

Unlike “The Red Shoes” which was enormously successful with both critics and public, “The Wicked Lady” was a popular choice only. The critics hated the movie. Really loathed it. Here are some samples:

“The hoary, the tedious and the highly disagreeable are married with an infelicity rare even in costume pictures.” — Sunday Times.

“The plot is ridiculous, the dialogue atrocious.” — Daily Sketch.

“A mixture of hot passion and cold suet pudding…Never misses bathos…Inept to the point of exasperation.” — Manchester Guardian.

Nor was the picture’s reception on the other side of the Atlantic any better. Most complaints centered on the extravagant plot and one-dimensional characterizations and acting. The American public which traditionally took far greater notice of critics, responded in kind. Although The Wicked Lady made money in America, it was far removed from the runaway boxoffice success of its native heaths.

COMMENT: Yes, I think the critical chorus had a certain amount of truth behind it. True, the plot is full-blown melodrama and the characters are pasteboard figures. But what does it matter? Is not extravagant plotting with all its coincidences, unlikely twists and larger than life surprises the stuff that escapist entertainment is made of? Are not players of the calibre of Mason, Lockwood, Rennie, Jones, Aylmer, Roc and Stamp Taylor sufficiently personable and charismatic to breathe life into one-dimensionally written figures? Certainly, I think so (even if Mason himself did not, although undoubtedly one of the causes of his dissatisfaction was the role’s brevity).

Leslie Arliss has written and directed with verve, pace and style, his script helped by a great deal of witty additional dialogue and catty repartee, his direction aided by Jack Cox’s typically moody, gray-toned photography, John Bryan’s magnificent sets, Elizabeth Haffenden’s eye-catching Restoration costumes. (Perhaps some of the film’s enormous success at the boxoffice can be traced to its low-cut, period gowns. It would be hard to deny that Misses Lockwood and Roc fill their costumes most attractively).

“The Wicked Lady” has an undeniable sweep and a vigorous dash that carries the audience right along. It may be too excitingly plotted for some, but it always looks so terribly authentic, it is hard not to be drawn into the machinations of villainess Lockwood or sympathize with the careless, carefree vigor of James Mason’s full-blooded Captain Jackson. A welcome cast of deservedly popular support artists help round out the movie’s terrific production values. Aside from some obvious process screen effects, no expense has been spared. In fact, this Wicked Lady is lavish to a fault. [The excellent DVD from ITV rates 10 out of ten].

Rating: 5 / 5