The Case of the Frightened Lady (film)

The Case of the Frightened Lady
The Case of the Frightened Lady
	Danish poster
Directed by	George King
Written by	Edward Dryhurst (screenplay); Robert Stevenson (uncredited);
Based on	play by Edgar Wallace
Produced by	S.W. Smith
Starring	Marius Goring; Helen Haye; Penelope Dudley Ward;
Cinematography	Hone Glendinning
Edited by	Leslie Norman
Music by	Jack Beaver
Production; company	George King Productions (as Pennant Pictures)
Distributed by	British Lion Film Corporation (UK)
Release date	28 September 1940 (UK);
Running time	81 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Case of the Frightened Lady is a 1940 British, black-and-white, crime, drama, mystery thriller, directed by George King and starring Marius Goring as Lord Lebanon, Helen Haye as Lady Lebanon, Penelope Dudley Ward as Isla Crane, George Merritt as Detective Inspector Tanner, Ronald Shiner as Detective Sergeant Totty and Felix Aylmer as Dr Amersham.^[1] It was produced by Pennant Picture Productions and presented by British Lion Film Corporation. The film is based on the 1931 play by Edgar Wallace.^[2]

This production was the second time that Wallace’s play had been adapted for the cinema. The first production in 1932 was directed by T. Hayes Hunter and starred Emlyn Williams.^[3] The BBC also produced two television versions; the first in 1938 and the second in 1983 which starred Warren Clarke and Virginia McKenna.^[4]^[5]

In 2008, the film was released on DVD by Odeon Entertainment as part of their 'Best of British' collection. Prior to this release, the film had not been seen in public since its original release.^[6]

Plot

The story is a thriller that revolves around the Lebanon family who live at Mark’s Priory. Lady Lebanon tells her son, William, Lord Lebanon that he must marry his cousin Isla Crane to continue the family line. However, William has no intention of marrying Isla and matters are made more complicated due to Isla falling in love with an architect, Richard Ferraby, who has come to Mark’s Priory to draw up renovation plans. At the same time the strange behaviour of two footmen and the family physician add to the mystery surrounding the family. Eventually rumour and speculation lead to a murderous conclusion.

Music

The score, by Jack Beaver, includes perhaps the first example of a Romantic style, diegetic "Denham Concerto" composed especially for film, a year before Richard Addinsell's much more famous Warsaw Concerto appeared in the film Dangerous Moonlight (1941).^[7] Here the piano is actually played by Marius Goring as Lord Lebanon. Goring was an accomplished player whose mother Kate Winifred was a professional pianist who had studied with Clara Schumann.^[8]

Cast

Marius Goring as 'Willie', Lord Lebanon
Penelope Dudley Ward as Isla Crane
Helen Haye as Dowager Lady Lebanon
Felix Aylmer as Dr Lester Charles Amersham
George Merritt as Detective Inspector William Tanner
Ronald Shiner as Sergeant Totty
Patrick Barr as Richard Ferraby
Roy Emerton as Gilder
George Hayes as Brooks
John Warwick as Studd, The Chauffeur
Elizabeth Scott as Jackson, the maid
Torin Thatcher as Jim Tilling, the gamekeeper
Mavis Clair as Mrs Tilling
Roddy Hughes as vicar

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote, "the sort of thing Edgar Wallace could make intriguing on paper—or, on the stage, as he did in telling of the horrendous doings at Mark's Priory in Criminal at Large about ten years ago. But the old shocker has lost most of its punch...There are several reasons why Frightened Lady doesn't come off as it should. One is that Director George King has not evidenced any regard for suspense, the other is that the performances, on the whole, are uninspired. But perhaps the real reason is that the story itself is outmoded for cinematic treatment";^[9] while Britmovie called it "a tightly written murder mystery...probably one of the best scored films of the 1940s, with the piano dirges being played throughout the movie, “The Case of the Frightened Lady” is a fast moving story... (it) remains a classic for those who enjoy this genre of film";^[10] and Vérité noted "a fun and feisty thriller that unlike so many modern films, doesn't outstay its welcome."^[11]