''Meet Maxwell Archer'' is a 1940 British

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

directed by

John Paddy Carstairs John Paddy Carstairs (born John Keys; 11 May 1910, in London – 12 December 1970, in London) was a British film director (1933–62) and television director (1962–64), usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and ...

and starring John Loder,

Leueen MacGrath Leueen MacGrath (3 July 1914 – 27 March 1992) was an English actress and playwright and the second wife of George S. Kaufman, from 1949 until their divorce in 1957. Early years Born in London, England, MacGrath was a graduate of the Royal ...

and

Athole Stewart Athole Chalmers Stewart (25 June 1879 – 18 October 1940) was a British stage and latterly film actor, often in authoritarian or aristocratic roles. On stage, he played in the original production of Noël Coward's '' Hay Fever'' at the Ambassa ...

. The screenplay concerns a private detective who attempts to clear a man wrongly accused of murder. The film was based on the 1938 novel by Hugh Clevely. It was released in the U.S. in 1942 as ''Maxwell Archer, Detective''.

Plot summary

Maxwell Archer, a private detective, attempts to clear a young man wrongly accused of murder.

Cast

* John Loder as Maxwell Archer *

as Sarah *

as Superintendent Gordon *

Marta Labarr Marta Labarr (born Martha Eugénie Claquin; 4 June 1912 – 30 June 1999) was a French-American singer and actress who appeared in 11 British and French films, usually as a leading lady. Her final film was the 1946 thriller ''Tehran'', playing o ...

as Nina * George Merritt as Inspector Cornell *

Ronald Adam General Sir Ronald Forbes Adam, 2nd Baronet, (30 October 1885 – 26 December 1982) was a senior British Army officer. He had an important influence on the conduct of the British Army during the Second World War as a result of his long tenure ...

as Nicolides * Peter Hobbes as George Gull Jr. * Ralph Roberts as George Gull Sr. *

Syd Crossley Syd Crossley (18 November 1885 – 1 November 1960) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London in 1885, Crossley began his career as a music hall comedian. He appeared in more than 110 films, often cast as a butler, between 1925 an ...

as Perkins *

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 ...

as Miss Duke

Critical reception

The film was coldly received. ''

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 ...

'' wrote, "Oh where is

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

when you need him? Poorly made with a dopey script that gives the actors little room to breathe, let alone act."

References

External links

* 1940 films British mystery films Films directed by John Paddy Carstairs British black-and-white films 1940 mystery films Films shot at Rock Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub