Murder at the Windmill

Last updated

Murder at the Windmill
"Murder at the Windmill" (1949).jpg
Directed by Val Guest
Written byVal Guest
Based onoriginal story by Val Guest
Produced by Nat Cohen
Daniel Angel
Starring Garry Marsh
Jon Pertwee
Jack Livesey
Eliot Makeham
Jimmy Edwards
CinematographyBert Mason
Edited by Douglas Myers
Music by Ronald Hanmer
Production
company
Angel Productions
Distributed by Associated British Film Distributors (United Kingdom)
Monogram Pictures (United States)
Release dates
  • 1949 (1949)(United Kingdom)
  • 1950 (1950)(United States)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Murder at the Windmill (U.S. title: Mystery at the Burlesque, also known as Murder at the Burlesque [1] ) is a 1949 British crime film directed and written by Val Guest and starring Garry Marsh, Jon Pertwee, Jack Livesey, Eliot Makeham and Jimmy Edwards. [1]

Contents

It was shot at Walton Studios and was the first film to show footage inside the Windmill Theatre. [2]

Plot

A spectator is shot during a performance at London's Windmill Theatre, causing the Metropolitan Police to investigate. [3]

Cast

Production

According to a 1988 interview with Val Guest, [4] a number of people had tried to get permission for making a film about the Windmill but been refused by Vivian Van Damm. Daniel Angel managed to get the rights because he was the son in law of Van Damm. Angel approached Guest to write and direct because he knew Guest had written sketches for the Windmill. Guest thought up a story overnight which was approved by Van Damm. Guest said: "we went on the floor, we built the Windmill in the studio, we did a few things at the Windmill but not a lot, we built it all in the studio, we did it with numbers, shot it with production numbers and everything in 17 days and it went out and made a fortune."

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the story is far from original, the authentic settings, and glimpses of life on the other side of the curtain at the Windmill, are sure to appeal to most audiences, and whilst some of the company seem a little out of their element on the screen, the addition of such seasoned film actors as Eliot Makeham, as Gimpy, and Garry Marsh and Jon Pertwee, as an amusing pair of policemen, lends the necessary support to their efforts. Diana Decker is attractively vivacious as the show's leading lady." [5]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Much less ambitious but considerably more entertaining than To-Night and Every Night , America's highly coloured tribute to the "music hall that never closed," it is certain to go down well with the crowd." [6]

Variety wrote: "Despite story triteness, it moves along okay and the footage is only 58 minutes, keying it for lowercase bookings. ... A little more time on development of meller factors would have helped." [7]

In the Radio Times , David McGillivray wrote, "partly filmed in situ, with performers and staff playing themselves, this creaky whodunnit is a valuable record, within the bounds of the strict censorship of the day, of the lowbrow songs and sketches that made the theatre famous. Jimmy Edwards's spot, dreadful now, was thought hilarious at the time, and won the whiskery comic his part in radio's celebrated Take It from Here ." [8]

TV Guide thought the film was "hampered by trite dialog and an easy solution," and "the mystery is little more than an excuse to film a few song and dance numbers. These are nicely staged and come off a good deal better than the investigation." [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striptease</span> Erotic dance

A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic" or "burlesque" dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Pertwee</span> English actor (1919–1996)

John Devon Roland Pertwee, known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in the BBC Radio sitcom The Navy Lark (1959–1977) and appearing in four films in the Carry On series (1964–1992).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windmill Theatre</span> Theatre and cinema in Londons Soho

The Windmill Theatre in Great Windmill Street, London, was a variety and revue theatre best known for its nude tableaux vivants, which began in 1932 and lasted until its reversion to a cinema in 1964. Many prominent British comedians of the post-war years started their careers at the theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Val Guest</span> British director and screenwriter (1911–2006)

Val Guest was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer, for whom he directed 14 films, and for his science fiction films. He enjoyed a long career in the film industry from the early 1930s until the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Edwards</span> English comedy actor (1920–1988)

James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC was an English comedy writer and actor of stage, radio, television and film, known for his roles as Pa Glum in Take It from Here and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in Whack-O!.

Major Daniel Morris Angel was a leading British film producer who was responsible for several notable British films during the 1950s, such as Another Man's Poison (1952), The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), Reach for the Sky (1956), and Carve Her Name with Pride (1958).

Vivian Van Damm was a prominent British theatre impresario from 1932 until 1960, managing the Windmill Theatre in London's Great Windmill Street. The theatre was famed for its pioneering tableaux vivants of motionless female nudity, and for its reputation of having 'never closed' during the Blitz.

<i>Miss Pilgrims Progress</i> 1949 British film

Miss Pilgrim's Progress is a 1949 black-and-white British comedy film by producer Nat Cohen and director Val Guest.

<i>Paper Orchid</i> 1949 British film

Paper Orchid is a 1949 British crime film directed by Roy Ward Baker, with a script written by Val Guest. It featured Hugh Williams, Hy Hazell and Garry Marsh, and was based on the 1948 novel of the same title by Arthur La Bern. It featured an early film appearance by Sid James, who later found success through the Carry On series.

<i>Its a Wonderful World</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Val Guest

It's a Wonderful World is a 1956 British musical film directed and written by Val Guest and starring Terence Morgan, George Cole, Mylène Demongeot and Kathleen Harrison. It also features Dennis Lotis, a popular singer at the time.

<i>William Comes to Town</i> 1948 film by Val Guest

William Comes to Town is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring William Graham and Garry Marsh. It was based on the Just William series of novels by Richmal Crompton. It served as a loose sequel to 1947 film Just William's Luck. It is also known by its U.S. alternative title William Goes to the Circus.

<i>Helter Skelter</i> (1949 film) 1949 British film

Helter Skelter is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Carol Marsh, David Tomlinson and Mervyn Johns. A radio star becomes involved with a wealthy heiress. The title is a common expression to describe a situation of "chaotic and disorderly haste".

<i>Saloon Bar</i> 1940 British film by Walter Forde

Saloon Bar is a 1940 British comedy thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Gordon Harker, Elizabeth Allan and Mervyn Johns. It was made by Ealing Studios and its style has led to comparisons with the later Ealing Comedies, unlike other wartime Ealing films which are different in tone. It is based on the 1939 play of the same name by Frank Harvey in which Harker had also starred. An amateur detective tries to clear an innocent man of a crime before the date of his execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Marsh</span> English actor (1902–1981)

Garry Marsh was an English stage and film actor.

<i>The Four Just Men</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Walter Summers

The Four Just Men, also known as The Secret Four, is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Edward Chapman and Frank Lawton. It is based on the 1905 novel The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace. There was a previous silent film version in 1921. This version was produced by Ealing Studios, with sets designed by Wilfred Shingleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliot Makeham</span> English actor (1882–1956)

Harold Elliott Makeham was an English film and television actor.

<i>Forbidden</i> (1949 film) 1949 film by George King

Forbidden is a 1949 British thriller film, produced and directed by George King, and starring Douglass Montgomery, Hazel Court and Patricia Burke. King's last production both as independent producer and as director, it also features the final screen appearance by Montgomery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Livesey</span> British actor (1901–1961)

Jack Edwards Livesey was a British film actor.

<i>The Body Said No!</i> 1950 British film by Val Guest

The Body Said No! is a 1950 British crime comedy film directed and written by Val Guest and starring Michael Rennie, Yolande Donlan, and Hy Hazell. It was shot at Walton Studios near London and distributed by Eros Films.

<i>Ill Be Your Sweetheart</i> 1945 British film

I'll Be Your Sweetheart is a 1945 British historical musical film directed by Val Guest and starring Margaret Lockwood, Vic Oliver and Michael Rennie. It was the first and only musical film produced by Gainsborough Studios. Commissioned by the British Ministry of Information, it was set at the beginning of the 20th century, and was about the composers of popular music hall songs fighting for a new copyright law that will protect them from having their songs stolen. Copyright scholar Adrian Johns has called the film "propaganda" and "a one-dimensional account of the piracy crisis [about sheet music in the early 20th century] from the publishers' perspective", but also highlighted its value as historical document, with large parts of the dialogue "closely culled from the actual raids, court cases, and arguments of 1900-1905."

References

  1. 1 2 "Murder at the Windmill". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  2. Article on the Film "Murder at the Windmill." From the 1949 magazine 'Film and Art Reel.' No 1. Vol 6 at Arthur Lloyd website accessed 24 June 2014
  3. Page on movie at Arthur Lloyd accessed 24 June 2014
  4. Fowler, Roy (1988). "Interview with Val Guest". British Entertainment History Project.
  5. "Murder at the Windmill" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 16 (181): 115. 1 January 1949 via ProQuest.
  6. "Murder at the Windmill" . Kine Weekly . 387 (2193): 18. 12 May 1949 via ProQuest.
  7. "Murder at the Windmill" . Variety . 178 (6): 8. 19 April 1950 via ProQuest.
  8. David McGillivray. "Murder at the Windmill". RadioTimes.
  9. "Mystery At The Burlesque". TV Guide.