The Long Dark Hall : Plot, Cast, Critical reception Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Long Dark Hall

1951 British film

Reginald Beck
Anthony Bushell

Written byNunnally JohnsonBased onA Case to Answer
by Edgar LustgartenProduced byPeter CusickStarring

Rex Harrison
Lilli Palmer

CinematographyWilkie CooperEdited byTom SimpsonMusic byBenjamin Frankel

Production
companies

London Films
Five Ocean Films Ltd.
Cusick International Films

Distributed byBritish Lion Films

Release date

6 February 1951 (1951-02-06) (UK)

Running time

88 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

The Long Dark Hall is a 1951 British mystery, suspense, courtroom-drama, crime film directed by Reginald Beck and Anthony Bushell and starring Rex Harrison, Lilli Palmer and Raymond Huntley. It was based on the 1947 novel A Case to Answer by Edgar Lustgarten. It was made at Walton Studios.

Plot

After a showgirl begins an affair with Arthur Groome, a married man, she is found murdered. Groome discovers her body but fearing his wife's knowledge of his affair he does not summon the police; he soon becomes the prime suspect for the murder.^[1] Most of the film portrays the trial of Groome at the Old Bailey, London.

Cast

Rex Harrison as Arthur Groome
Lilli Palmer as Mary Groome
Tania Heald as Sheila Groome
Henrietta Barry as Rosemary Groome
Dora Sevening as Mary's mother
Ronald Simpson as Mary's father
Raymond Huntley as Chief Inspector Sullivan
William Squire as Sergeant Cochran
Ballard Berkeley as Superintendent Maxey
Anthony Dawson as The Man
Denis O'Dea as Sir Charles Morton
Anthony Bushell as Clive Bedford
Henry B. Longhurst as Judge
Patricia Cutts as Rose Mallory
Meriel Forbes as Marjorie Danns
Brenda De Banzie as Mrs Rogers
Douglas Jefferies as Dr. Conway
Fletcher Lightfoot as Jury Foreman
Anthony Shaw as Clerk of the Court
Michael Medwin as Leslie Scott
Colin Gordon as Pound
Lionel Murton as Jefferson (US version only)
Eric Pohlmann as Mr Polaris
Lilli Molnar as Mrs Polaris
Frank Tickle as Alfred Tripp
Tom Macaulay as Ironworks manager
Richard Littledale as Mr Sims
Jenny Laird as Mrs Sims
Tony Quinn as Joe the barman
Jill Bennett as First murdered girl

Critical reception

In The New York Times, Bosley Crowther wrote, "a very tidy murder drama arrived yesterday from England at the Rivoli Theater...An unusually literate and impressively acted film...It is English in setting and temperament, but international in its entertainment appeal. Thoughtful audiences should especially welcome this picture."^[2]

References

^ "The Long Dark Hall (1951)". BFI Film & TV Database. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
^ Crowther, Bosley (10 May 1951). "The Long Dark Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2014.