BEDELIA

Margaret Lockwood

BEDELIA (1946). Director: Lance Comfort. 

Bedelia and Charlie Carrington (Margaret Lockwood of The Wicked Lady and Ian Hunter of The Girl from 10th Avenue) are on their honeymoon in Monte Carlo when they encounter the artist Ben Chaney (Barry K. Barnes) and they all become friends. Charlie hires Ben to do a portrait of Bedelia, which she objects to, complaining of headaches when she's forced to pose. Ben seems to have a too-intense interest in the pretty woman, and follows the couple to Charlie's home town where the artist is set up in a studio. Ben's mere presence makes Bedelia nervous, and suspicion of the man is also ignited in Ellen (Anne Crawford of They Were Sisters), Charlie's business partner. But is Bedelia keeping secrets herself? 

Ian Hunter with Lockwood

Bedelia is based on a novel by American writer Vera ("Laura") Casbury. The story originally took place in Connecticut but was moved to England for this British production, with the time period updated from shortly after the turn to the century to a contemporary period. Casbury felt that this compromised her theme of the changing gender roles of the time. Whatever the case, Bedelia is a well-acted and very suspenseful story with a darkly fascinating heroine and very interesting supporting characters. Others in the cast include Jill Esmond as Nurse Harris, called in when Charlie suffers food poisoning, Beatrice Varley of Hatter's Castle as the maid Mary, and Barbara Blair as the chatty party guest, Sylvia. Barnes and Lockwood also appeared together in The Girl in the News. 

Verdict: Intriguing British suspense flick. ***. 

BLIND CORNER

Alexander Davion and Barbara Shelley

BLIND CORNER (aka Man in the Dark/1964). Director: Lance Comfort.  

Although he's been totally blind for a number of years, Paul (William Sylvester of The Unholy Four) has a successful career as a composer of popular songs and commercial jingles; he also hopes to complete a concerto. His wife, Anne (Barbara Shelley of The Gorgon), a former actress who wanted security, has grown tired of looking after Paul and leaves that to his secretary, Joan (Elizabeth Shepherd of Damian: Omen 2), who happens to be in love with him. Anne has taken up with a starving artist named Ricky (Alexander Davion of Paranoiac), who has no problems sleeping with Paul's wife, but draws the line at murder. Or does he? Anne needs money which she can get from her late husband's estate, but if Ricky won't help her ... Then Paul's manager, Mike (Mark Eden), whom Anne can't stand, tells Paul that her saw her having a romantic dinner with Ricky. 

Triangle: Shelley, Davion, Sylvester

Blind Corner is a minor but absorbing British suspense story that is well-acted by all, although it could be argued that lead Sylvester seems a little too in control when his world is falling apart; still he is good, and the picture works well even if it might come off like a television episode. There's an effective climax and a very good twist that took me by surprise. Singer Ronnie Carroll plays himself and gets to warble a couple of tunes. Neither Shelley nor Davion are photographed that flatteringly, although both are certainly attractive individuals. 

Verdict: Worthwhile British suspenser with good performances. ***. 

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948)

Denis Goacher and Siobhan McKenna

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948). Director: Lance Comfort. 

Emily (Siobhan McKenna) is a servant girl in a small-town parish in Ireland. When the ladies of the church object to how the men seem drawn to Emmie, they importune the priest to send her away. She winds up on an English farm run by the Tallent family: Julie (Honor Blackman) and her boyfriend Saul (Denis Goacher); Julie's sister, Bess (Anne Crawford of They Were Sisters) and her husband Bob (Barry Morse of Asylum); and their brother, Larry (Grant Tyler), among others. Julie remains friendly with Emily even after Saul makes a pass at her, but Bess simply can't warm up to the young woman. Things take a sinister turn when a man named Dan (Maxwell Reed of Daybreak), whom Emmie met at a fair in Ireland, turns up murdered ... 

Barry Morse and Anne Crawford

An unusual aspect of this unusual suspense film is the casting of Siobhan McKenna as the "femme fatale," Hardly possessed of great beauty -- in some shots she is positively homely -- her performance is so good that you sort of forget how she looks and appreciate the fact that some women can cast a spell over certain men even without possessing enormous pulchritude. If this had been remade for American audiences, it not only would have been more lurid and explicit, but Emily would have been played by a much sexier female. In any case, McKenna's innocent appearance works to the film's advantage.

David Greene and Siobhan McKenna

Daughter of Darkness never spells out exactly how various men are killed, adding to the film's obtuseness. The notion that she only kills men who try and have their way with her is jettisoned when one innocent youth is also found dead. Does Emily entice men and then react negatively when they give in to her enticement? Is she an evil, even sociopathic creature? We learn so little of her background -- and indeed all of the characters could have used more development -- that it's hard to figure out. In any case the film is moody and absorbing, and well-acted by all, making this a worthwhile watch despite its flaws. Others in the cast include David Greene as a man who disappears after meeting with Emily; Liam Redmond as the priest; and George Thorpe as the head of the Tallent family. Adding to the dark atmosphere is a dog, its owner dead, who wanders about howling and growling, and the bit with the church organ playing mysteriously in the middle of the night. Lance Comfort also directed Hatter's Castle. 

Verdict: Strange but compelling. ***.   

HATTER'S CASTLE

James Mason

HATTER'S CASTLE (aka A, J. Cronin's Hatter's Castle/1942). Director: Lance Comfort.

James Brodie (Robert Newton of Obsession) owns a hat shop in a small British township and not only has pretensions but an alleged connection to the peerage. The huge house he has built and can hardly afford to keep is called "Hatter's Castle" by the townspeople. Brodie takes out his anger on his dying wife (Beatrice Varley) and pretty daughter, Mary (Deborah Kerr of The Night of the Iguana), but reserves his only affection for his young son, Angus (Tony Bateman), on whom he pins his hopes. The hypocritical Brodie turns his daughter out when she becomes pregnant by his slimy clerk, Dennis (Emlyn Williams), but keeps a mistress, Nancy (Enid Stamp-Taylor), in town, whom he later hires as his housekeeper! This is Newton's picture -- James Mason [Caught] has a relatively small role as a doctor who ministers to Mrs. Brodie and falls in love with Mary despite everything that happens. Mason is excellent, as is everyone else in the cast, with Newton giving an especially strong and flavorful performance (although one could argue that at times Newton threatens to turn into a caricature of a palm-rubbing silent movie villain  -- and the movie certainly has elements of silent melodrama). Based on a novel by A. J. Cronin, Hatter's Castle is an absorbing film full of dramatic and moving incident; it moves fast and plays very well.

Verdict: Superior British melodrama with a gripping Newton, lovely Kerr and stalwart Mason. ***.