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| Peggy Cummins |
MOSS ROSE (1947). Director: Gregory Ratoff.
Belle (Peggy Cummins) is a dance hall girl in London who is good friends with a young woman, another entertainer, named Daisy (Margo Woode of
Hell Bound). One day Belle discovers Daisy's dead body and sees a man, Michael Drego (Victor Mature), leaving Daisy's room in a hurry. Belle doesn't tell the police what she knows, and Michael assumes she is hoping to be paid blackmail money. But instead she shocks Micheal by asking him to bring her to his estate as a guest. It seems Belle has always wanted to be a "lady" ...
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| Victor Mature |
You might imagine that nothing good can come of this situation -- one also has to keep in mind that heroine Belle becomes an unsympathetic figure in that she's covering up a murder -- but
Moss Rose may not be quite as predictable as you might imagine. At the estate Belle interacts with Michael's strange if likable mother, Lady Margaret (Ethel Barrymore of
None But the Lonely Heart), and his fiancee, Audrey (Patricia Medina), who is at first quite suspicious of Belle's motives in coming. George Zucco is wasted as the butler, who has but one brief exchange with Belle, and Vincent Price has a little more to do as Inspector Clinner, who is investigating Daisy's murder. Eventually the killer is revealed.
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| Ethel Barrymore |
I believe Alfred Hitchcock had once expressed an interest in doing a film version of
Moss Rose -- the title refers to a type of flower pressed in the victim's bible -- and undoubtedly it would have made a far better picture than what we've got here. Price's fans will be disappointed that he has a very subordinate role, although he does have scenes with all of the principals. Cummins makes a good heroine, Medina is fine, and Barrymore walks off with the movie. This is simply not the right kind of material for Mature, who mostly just seems to be reciting lines. The basic material is there for a superior suspense film, but while the picture is absorbing, it has no flair. David Buttolph's musical score helps a bit. Peggy Cummins later stared with Dana Andrews in the classic
Night of the Demon.
Verdict: This forgotten movie has some points of interest. **1/2.
Another gem you have uncovered for me!! I must see it. Interesting you have included a Medina film next to the Cotten—I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing both back in the late 1980s—a lovely couple...Medina is wonderful in one of my favorite films, The Killing of Sister George.
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Yes, I thought Medina was striking in that picture as well. Must have been very interesting meeting both her and Cotten! I had heard about this picture for years and always sort of thought of it as the "lost" Vincent Price movie, although his part is subordinate. Found it on youtube, of course!
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