Doctor Morelle

Doctor Morelle
Directed by	Godfrey Grayson
Written by	Wilfred Burr (play) Ambrose Grayson Roy Plomley
Produced by	Anthony Hinds
Starring	Valentine Dyall Peter Drury Hugh Griffith Julia Lang
Cinematography	Cedric Williams
Edited by	Ray Pitt
Music by	Rupert Grayson Frank Spencer
Production company	Hammer Film Productions
Distributed by	Exclusive Films (UK)
Release date	27 June 1949 (1949-06-27) (UK)
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$56,000[1]

Doctor Morelle (also known as Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress and The Case of the Missing Heiress ^[2]) is a 1949 British second feature ('B')^[3] mystery film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Valentine Dyall, Peter Drury and Hugh Griffith.^[4][5] Made by Hammer Films, it was written by Ambrose Grayson and Roy Plomley, based on the popular long-running BBC radio series by Ernest Dudley and starring Cecil Parker.^[6][7] Dudley also wrote many novels and short stories featuring the character of Morelle.^[8]

Plot

Private detective Doctor Morelle, who is intrigued by a case of a wealthy young woman who has mysteriously vanished, visits her gloomy mansion to investigate...

Cast

• Valentine Dyall as Doctor Morelle
• Peter Drury as Peter Lorrimer
• Hugh Griffith as Bensall, the butler
• Julia Lang as Miss Frayle
• Jean Lodge as Cynthia Mason
• Philip Leaver as Samuel Kimber
• Sidney Vivian as Inspector
• James Raglan
• Bruce Walker

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Although the surprise ending provides a gleam of interest, the film as a whole is built on such a mass of absurdities as to be beyond all plausibility. Valentine Dyall brings his imposing presence and intense manner to bear upon the part of Dr. Morelle with good effect, whilst Julia Lang is sufficiently witless as Miss Frayle. The eerie effect produced by lighting and photography is the film's best feature."^[9]

The Radio Times noted "The first (and last) of an intended series based on a popular radio detective, this undistinguished B-feature murder mystery is typical of the early postwar output of Hammer before it discovered horror...Dyall has considerable presence but it's not enough to surmount the implausible plot."^[10]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Good radio characters wasted in story built on absurdities."^[11]

Sky Movies wrote, "Each week from 1942 on, millions of radio listeners thrilled to the creepy adventures that presented 'the secret papers of perhaps the strangest personality in the history of criminal investigation. The mysterious Dr Morelle and his always-in-peril Girl Friday, Miss Frayle, were a natural for films but, as with so many other popular radio sleuths, the British Cinema failed to do right by them even though the slightly sinister Valentine Dyall was perfect casting as the detective doctor."^[6]

References

1. Tom Johnson and Deborah Del Vecchio, Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography, McFarland, 1996 p36
2. "Dr. Morelle - the Case of the Missing Heiress (1949) - Godfrey Grayson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".
3. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
4. "Doctor Morelle". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
5. "Doctor Morelle The Case of the Missing Heiress (1949)". Archived from the original on 30 May 2008.
6. "Dr Morelle and the Case of the Missing Heiress". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
7. "Ernest Dudley". Independent.co.uk. 4 February 2006.
8. Bernstein, Marcelle (7 May 2006). "W Ernest Dudley". The Guardian.
9. "Doctor Morelle". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 16 (181): 96. 1 January 1949 – via ProQuest.
10. "Dr Morelle - the Case of the Missing Heiress - Film from RadioTimes".
11. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 204. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

External links

• Doctor Morelle at IMDb