Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
Unseen for many years, Three Cases of Murder and Return To Glennascaul are something of a treat for lovers of British film. The main feature is an excellent portmanteau in which the viewers imagination is challenged by the bizarre and macabre. A notable supporting cast of British actors includes John Gregson, Elizabeth Sellars, Andre Morell, Hugh Pryse, Eddie Byrne and the constant in all three shorts, Alan Badel.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Booklet, Interactive Menu, Production Notes, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The British omnibus thriller, Three Cases of Murder includes two supernatural tales and a straight whodunit. The first segment, "The Picture," was directed by Wendy Toye, based on a short story by Roderick Wilkinson. A museum tour guide, Jarvis (Hugh Pryse), is plagued by artworks going missing, and by the mysterious repeated breaking of the protective glass over a gloomy landscape painting. Jarvis is fascinated by the dark, foreboding house in the painting. One day while he's admiring it, he bumps into a stranger (Alan Badel, who appears in all three segments). Jarvis ends up following the stranger into the world of the painting with terrifying consequences. Eddie Byrne (General Willard in Star Wars) plays the demented taxidermist, Snyder. In the second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," written by Sidney Carroll (who co-wrote The Hustler), and directed by David Eady, lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman. George (Emrys Jones) has always stood in Edgar's (John Gregson) shadow. The two have a falling out when they realize they both love Elizabeth (Elizabeth Sellars), and when she later turns up dead, it affects the friendship in a surprising way. Badel plays the friendly bartender, Harry. The final story, "Lord Mountdrago," was based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. Directed by George More O'Ferrall, the segment stars Orson Welles as Lord Mountdrago, the officious secretary of state for foreign affairs. Mountdrago uses his oratory powers to destroy the career of a charismatic political opponent, Owen (Badel again). Mountdrago then finds himself tormented by the vengeful Owen, who seems to have found a way to enter his dreams. Andre Morrell (Bridge on the River Kwai) plays Mountdrago...Three Cases of Murder
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Never having seen this, I assumed it would be just another little compendium of half-hour murder stories of the type that usually took 70 minutes to tell as British B Films of the 1950's (and had that been all there was to it, this would still have been recommended, if you enjoy those kind of nostalgic windows onto a lost Britain peopled by all those familiar character actors).
However this turns out to be so much more, mainly thanks to the first story, concerning a haunted portrait in an art gallery. It has a slowish start which quickly develops into a truly nightmarish scenario, which made me feel quite uneasy. Without revealing too much it is extremely unnerving to watch and were it a dream of one's own you would be truly relieved on awakening.
The second story I also enjoyed, with a good cast (John Gregson and Elizabeth Sellars especially) even if the twist at the end was a tad obvious. The third story, featuring Orson Welles, is probably also the third in entertainment value.
But the first story alone guarantees that this is worth buying. Just don't watch with the light off!
However this turns out to be so much more, mainly thanks to the first story, concerning a haunted portrait in an art gallery. It has a slowish start which quickly develops into a truly nightmarish scenario, which made me feel quite uneasy. Without revealing too much it is extremely unnerving to watch and were it a dream of one's own you would be truly relieved on awakening.
The second story I also enjoyed, with a good cast (John Gregson and Elizabeth Sellars especially) even if the twist at the end was a tad obvious. The third story, featuring Orson Welles, is probably also the third in entertainment value.
But the first story alone guarantees that this is worth buying. Just don't watch with the light off!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Released in 1955, and following on from similiar vintage Portmanteau movies such as "Quartet", "Trio" and "Encore", which consisted of short stories written by that great storywriter, W. Somerset Maugham, this is an enjoyable collection of 3 murder stories, which includes one whodunnit, with Alan Badel appearing in all three.
With each story introduced by Eammon Andrews, the first, "The Picture" is my favourite, which concerns an haunted picture in a gallery, with Badel playing the artist who never quite finished the painting before he died, considering the age of the movie, this is an effectively creepy tale.
The next story "You Killed Elizabeth" is the story of a man who suffers from blackouts, believing that he killed his fiancee in a fit of rage, rather predictable maybe, but still an enjoyable whodunnit.
The final story "Lord Mondrago" sees Orson Welles playing the character of the title, a pompous Home Secretary who decides to humiliate the fiery and passionate Welshman, Owen, (again played by Alan Badel) in the House of Commons, Owen vows revenge, and now when Mondrago falls asleep he is plagued by nightmares.
The movie also stars John Gregson, Elizabeth Sellars, Andre Morell and Emrys Jones.
The black and white picture and sound quality are good, no subtitles. The movie is 96 minutes.
The bonus feature is a 22-minute ghost story "Return To Glennascaul", with Orson Welles starring as himself, who after offering a lift to an Irishman one foggy night is then told a spooky Irish tale. Picture quality is OK.
Also included is a collection of "Best Of British" trailers, and a two-page leaflet featuring a brief biography of Orson Welles.
With each story introduced by Eammon Andrews, the first, "The Picture" is my favourite, which concerns an haunted picture in a gallery, with Badel playing the artist who never quite finished the painting before he died, considering the age of the movie, this is an effectively creepy tale.
The next story "You Killed Elizabeth" is the story of a man who suffers from blackouts, believing that he killed his fiancee in a fit of rage, rather predictable maybe, but still an enjoyable whodunnit.
The final story "Lord Mondrago" sees Orson Welles playing the character of the title, a pompous Home Secretary who decides to humiliate the fiery and passionate Welshman, Owen, (again played by Alan Badel) in the House of Commons, Owen vows revenge, and now when Mondrago falls asleep he is plagued by nightmares.
The movie also stars John Gregson, Elizabeth Sellars, Andre Morell and Emrys Jones.
The black and white picture and sound quality are good, no subtitles. The movie is 96 minutes.
The bonus feature is a 22-minute ghost story "Return To Glennascaul", with Orson Welles starring as himself, who after offering a lift to an Irishman one foggy night is then told a spooky Irish tale. Picture quality is OK.
Also included is a collection of "Best Of British" trailers, and a two-page leaflet featuring a brief biography of Orson Welles.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A real oddity based on short stories. A suave brandy sipping Eamon Andrews introduces three tales, 2 mysteries and one whodunit(the weakest of the three, sandwiched in the middle). Alan Badel appears in all three to give some continuity. The first is a ghost story of a passed-on artist living in his own picture that he exists to admire in the gallery in which it hangs, and, never satisfied with the result, persuades the museum keeper to help him alter it.The whodunit is somewhat routine, the twist you can spot a mile off. Welles and his putty nose in the third segment sometimes want to take different roles but manage to get through one of those sort of Tales of the Unexpected, but by Somerset Maughan. One the roles Welles took to pay for his moribund production of Othello. The extra feature is also a ghost story with an intro with Peter Bogdanovich, a bit of a home movie but one for the Welles canon. Three out of four stars.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
