''Cast a Dark Shadow'' is a 1955
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
British suspense
film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert, based on the play ''Murder Mistaken'' by
Janet Green. The story concerns a husband played by
Dirk Bogarde who murders his wife.
Plot
After a year of marriage, Edward "Teddy" Bare kills his wealthy older wife, Monica, after she asks her lawyer, Phillip Mortimer, to change her will. He stages it to look as if she was accidentally asphyxiated while drunkenly trying to light the gas fire.
To his chagrin, he discovers that she actually intended to leave him all her money; instead, he only inherits the mansion from a prior will, while her fortune is left in trust to her only relative, her sister Dora. She leaves £200 to the elderly maid, but Edward convinces the maid that this was in lieu of wages, getting her to then work for free. Edward will receive the main inheritance only if Dora dies. An inquest rules it an accident, but Phillip, Monica's lawyer, makes it clear that he suspects Edward. When Edward asks where Dora lives, Phillip tells him she is far away, in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
Edward meets Freda, a merry widow, in a seaside hotel and woos her. He invites her to stay at the huge house which he has inherited. She becomes friendly with the maid.
Edward manages to marry lower-class but well-off widow Freda Jeffries, who is closer to Edward's age than Monica, but much less trusting than her predecessor, keeping tight control over her fortune. As the death of a second spouse so soon after the first would be highly suspicious, he is powerless to do anything. The new couple meet Charlotte Young, whose car has broken down. Charlotte is looking for a house to purchase for an equestrian school. As Edward was an estate agent before he married Monica, he shows her several properties, making Freda jealous. He tells Charlotte this.
Edward lures Charlotte to his mansion late one night while Freda and the servant are out. He reveals he knows that Charlotte is actually Dora. Then he brazenly admits killing her sister before trying to make her leave. Suspicious, she remains where she is. However, Freda and Emily return home unexpectedly, as Emily felt unwell, and Freda escorts Charlotte to the door. After Charlotte drives away, Edward tells Freda that he killed Monica, secure in the knowledge that a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband, and that he expects to inherit Charlotte's money shortly, as he has tampered with the brakes on her car. He is shocked when Phillip enters the room, having heard his confession, followed by his intended victim. She had returned to the house after meeting the lawyer at the estate's gate. Edward flees in his car, but the entrance is blocked by Charlotte's and Phillip's automobiles. With Phillip in pursuit, Edward switches to another vehicle, only to realise too late that he has taken Charlotte's. He loses control and drives off a cliff.
Cast
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Dirk Bogarde as Edward "Teddy" Bare
*
Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 ...
as Freda Jeffries
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Kay Walsh
Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such a ...
as Charlotte Young
*
Kathleen Harrison
Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a worki ...
as Emily (Emmie), the Bares' maid
*
Robert Flemyng
Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory the ...
as Phillip Mortimer
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Mona Washbourne
Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film '' Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for which she was nominated for a Gold ...
as Monica (Milly) Bare
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Philip Stainton
Philip Stainton (9 April 1908 – 1 August 1961) was an English actor. Stainton appeared in several Ealing comedies and major international movies. He specialized in playing friendly or exasperated uniformed policemen, but also appeared in ...
as Charlie Mann, a business associate of Edward's
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Walter Hudd
Walter Hudd (20 February 1897 – 20 January 1963) was a British actor and director.
Stage career
Hudd made his stage debut in ''The Manxman'' in 1919, and later toured as part of the Fred Terry Company; first attracting serious attention play ...
as Coroner
*
Lita Roza
Lilian Patricia Lita Roza (14 March 1926 – 14 August 2008) was an English singer best known for her 1953 recording " (How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. She was the first British woman to hav ...
as Singer. This is Roza's film debut.
Production
The film was based on the play ''Murder Mistaken'' by
Janet Green. Green wanted Dirk Bogarde to be in the play but he turned it down and
Derek Farr
Derrick Capel Farr (7 February 191221 March 1986) was an English actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986. His more famous roles include Group Captain John Whitworth in '' The Dam Busters' ...
played the role instead. When
Lewis Gilbert
Lewis Gilbert (6 March 1920 – 23 February 2018) was an English film director, producer and screenwriter who directed more than 40 films during six decades; among them such varied titles as ''Reach for the Sky'' (1956), ''Sink the Bismarck!'' ...
was making ''
The Sea Shall Not Have Them
''The Sea Shall Not Have Them'' is a 1954 British war film starring Michael Redgrave, Dirk Bogarde and Anthony Steel. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and is based on the 1953 novel by John Harris, about a North Sea rescue during the Second W ...
'' he saw the play and thought it would make a good film, and he persuaded Bogarde to play the lead.
Bogarde persuaded Margaret Lockwood to co star. "I was dubious about being able to play such a character, though I liked her honesty," said Lockwood.
[Eric Braun, "The indestructibles", '' Films and Filming'' September 1973 p 38]
"I think it was a very interesting plot, very claustrophobic," said Gilbert. "I think it was the best thing Margaret Lockwood did, she was great in the film."
Dirk Bogarde later said "the unwholesomeness of the hero was what was fun about it."
Reception
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote that the actors are skilled but "they are not offered many opportunities to make ''Cast a Dark Shadow'' mysterious or tense."
In September 1956, ''
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...
'' film reviewer,
Clyde Gilmour
Clyde Gilmour, (8 June 1912 in Calgary – 7 November 1997 in Toronto) was a Canadian broadcaster and print journalist, mostly known for his half-century career with CBC Radio.
Early life and education
Gilmour was raised in Medicine Hat, ...
described the film as "
solid little murder thriller from Britain."
Lewis Gilbert later said "it was reasonably successful but by then Margaret
ockwoodhad been in several really bad films and her name on a picture was rather counter-productive."
[Brian MacFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Methuen 1997 p 221]
Dirk Bogarde said "the film was a failure":
It was the first time I had come under another star's name - Margaret Lockwood - and it just died, which was a pity because it was a very good movie and I had persuaded Maggie to do it. I remember being on tour in Cardiff with a play and I saw a poster for ''Cast a Dark Shadow'' and it had 'Dirk Bogarde in ''Cast a Dark Shadow and, at the very bottom, 'with Margaret Lockwood'. They altered the billing order because they saw it was dying and that, astoundingly, her name had killed it, though it was probably her best performance ever.[Brian McFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Methuen 1997 p 70]
"I'm glad I did it, but am still wondering exactly where it got me," said Lockwood in 1973. After making the movie she did not appear in a feature film for another 21 years.
''Halliwell's Film & Video Guide'' described the film as "
nambitiousbut enjoyable melodrama, well acted though with directorial opportunities missed."
Home media
''Cast a Dark Shadow'' was given a DVD commercial release by Simply Media in June 2015 - nearly 60 years after its theatrical release.
References
External links
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''Cast a Dark Shadow''at Britmovie
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''Cast a Dark Shadow''at
BFI
The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...
''Cast a Dark Shadow''at
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
Review of filmat ''Variety''
{{Lewis Gilbert
1955 films
1955 crime films
1950s crime thriller films
British black-and-white films
British crime thriller films
British films based on plays
Film noir
Films directed by Lewis Gilbert
Films produced by Herbert Mason
Films scored by Antony Hopkins
Films set in Brighton
Films set in country houses
Films shot in East Sussex
Films shot in Hertfordshire
Uxoricide in fiction
1950s English-language films
1950s British films