''Inquest'' is a 1939

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Roy Boulting John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

and starring

Elizabeth Allan Elizabeth Allan (9 April 1910 – 27 July 1990) was an English stage and film actress who worked in both Britain and Hollywood, where she appeared in 50 films. Life and career Allan was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1910 and educated in ...

, Herbert Lomas,

Hay Petrie David Hay Petrie (16 July 1895 – 30 July 1948) was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1934), the McLaggen in ''The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) and Uncle Pumblechook in '' Great ...

and

Barbara Everest Barbara Everest (19 June 1890 – 9 February 1968) was a British stage and film actress. She was born in Southfields, Surrey, and made her screen debut in the 1916 film ''The Man Without a Soul''. On stage she played Queen Anne in the 1935 his ...

. In the film, a young widow is accused of murder, and enlists the support of a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

to help prove her innocence. It was based on the play ''

Inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

'' by Michael Barringer which had previously been adapted as ''

'' in 1931. The film was a

quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

made at Highbury Studios to be used as a supporting feature.

Cast

as Margaret Hamilton * Herbert Lomas as Thomas Knight *

as Stephen Neale *

as Mrs. Wyatt *

Olive Sloane Olive Sloane (16 December 1896 – 28 June 1963) was an English actress whose film career spanned over 40 years from the silent era through to her death. Sloane's career trajectory was unusual in that for most of her professional life she was e ...

as Lily Prudence *

Philip Friend Philip Wyndham Friend (20 February 1915 in Horsham, Sussex – 1 September 1987 in Chiddingfold, Surrey) was a British film and television actor. Career Britain Friend went to Bradfield College where he became interested in acting. He began ...

as Richard Neale KC * Harold Anstruther as Sir. Denton Hulme * Malcolm Morley as Doctor Macfarlane

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

concluded, "not bad as courtroom dramas go. This was the first attempt by the Boulting brothers to give higher production values to programmer filmmaking."

References

1939 films 1930s English-language films British crime films 1939 crime films British films based on plays Films shot at Highbury Studios Quota quickies Films set in England British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{1930s-crime-film-stub