''Murder Without Crime'' is a 1950 British

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

J. Lee Thompson John Lee Thompson (1 August 1914 – 30 August 2002) was a British film director, active in London and Hollywood, best known for award-winning films such as ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'', ''Ice Cold in Alex'' and ''The Guns of Navarone (film), Th ...

(his first film, credited as J. Lee-Thompson) and starring

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeves ...

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' ...

and

Patricia Plunkett Patricia Ruth Plunkett (17 December 1926 – 13 October 1974) was an English actress, born to an Australian WW1 soldier, Captain Gunning Francis Plunkett, and Alice Park. Born in Streatham, London, she trained at RADA and had an early stage hit ...

. J. Lee Thompson also wrote the screenplay adapted from ''Double Error'', his own successful West End play.

Plot

Following a bitter row, writer Stephen Holt (

) walks out on his wife Jan (

) and goes to drown his sorrows at a nightclub. A drunken Steve ends up returning home with the club's wily hostess, Grena (

Joan Dowling Joan Dowling (6 January 1928 – 31 March 1954) was a British character actress. Life and career Dowling was the illegitimate daughter of Vera Dowling. A piece in ''The Laindon and District Times'', on 23 June 2015, written by her cousin Joh ...

). Just then Jan calls, and announces she is returning that night to the flat. Steve attempts to get rid of Grena, but a fight ensues and he believes he has killed her. He quickly hides her body in an ottoman. Downstairs, the suave and sinister

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

Matthew (

) hears the disturbance and goes to investigate. Matthew suspects the edgy Steve is hiding something, and during the night continually taunts his tenant. Stephen eventually confesses, but rather than calling for the police the landlord blackmails his tenant for an extortionate rent, and reveals his long-held affection for his tenant's wife.

Cast

as Matthew *

as Stephen *

as Jan *

as Grena

Original Play

''Double Error'' is a 1935 British play by

. It had a run in the West End when Thompson was only 18 years old. An article from this time about the play said he had written 40 plays already, including four in between his first two staged plays. The play led to a job offer for Thompson to write scripts, launching his career. The ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' called it "a gripping thriller". It was filmed as ''

The Price of Folly ''The Price of Folly'' is a 1937 British drama film directed by Walter Summers and starring Leonora Corbett, Colin Keith-Johnston and Judy Kelly. The screenplay concerns a man who, after a failed attempt to kill a woman, finds himself blackmaile ...

'', released in 1937. The play was revised and had a run in London as ''Murder Without Crime'' in 1942. ''

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 ...

'' said "the play's quality consists not in its crude and obvious plot but in the character drawing of the sadistic neighbour." The play was very successful and there was interest in other productions, in part because the play only required four actors and one set. In November 1942 it was optioned by an American producer. The play had a brief run on Broadway in 1943. It was revived in 1945 with

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...

. It did not reach New York. ''Variety'' reviewing the John Carradine production said "There is much too little in the J. Lee Thompson opus for a satisfactory theatre session. The surprise finish is a good twist for a short short story, and may provide the qualification for an Eric Johnston imprimatur in Hollywood, but the average Broadway-farer will find the device insufficient reward." The film adaptation began Thompson's career as film director.

Critical reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said it was "a typical example of a stageplay transferred to the screen without any substantial revision of the script. The film version never breaks out of its original confines and is restricted in space and action... One of the most verbose examples of recent British productions, this is overloaded with precious dialog to fit the suave character played by Dennis Price. But it is completely out of place in a thriller, and draws laughs at the wrong places." In ''

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 ...

noted "a harmless, and, for the most part, pleasurable, addition to the horror-with-a-twist genre." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' praised its "gripping, dark mood."Brash, Subtle Crime Stories Now Showing Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. os Angeles, Calif5 July 1951: B8. Britmovie described it as a "slick noirish thriller atmospherically directed by J. Lee Thompson." ''

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 ...

'' reviewer believed the film "suffers from a stagy presentation that never lets the celluloid medium take over...Thompson is content to present only a visually simplistic recording of the play. The dialog doesn't work well on screen, often drawing unintentional laughs. Despite the film's overriding weaknesses, it was an enormous hit in London's West End."

References

External links

*
Double Error
at Reel Streets
Murder without crime
at Letterbox DVD {{J. Lee Thompson 1950 films Films directed by J. Lee Thompson British films based on plays 1950 directorial debut films British crime films 1950 crime films British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by J. Lee Thompson Films about writers 1950s English-language films 1950s British films