''That Woman Opposite'' (U.S. ''City After Midnight'') is a 1957 British crime drama, directed by

Compton Bennett Herbert William Compton Bennett (15 January 1900 – 11 August 1974), better known as Compton Bennett, was an English film director, writer and producer. He is perhaps best known for directing the 1945 film ''The Seventh Veil'' and the 1950 ver ...

and starring

Phyllis Kirk Phyllis Kirk (born Phyllis Kirkgaard; September 18, 1927 October 19, 2006) was an American actress. Early life Kirk was born in Syracuse, New York, although some sources state her birthplace as Plainfield, New Jersey. She contracted polio as ...

, Dan O'Herlihy and

William Franklyn William Leo Franklyn (22 September 1925 – 31 October 2006) was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973. He also performed on stage, film, television and radio, ...

. The screenplay, also by Bennett, was adapted from

John Dickson Carr John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 – February 27, 1977) was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and is ...

's 1942 novel '' The Emperor's Snuff-Box''. The film was generally positively received by critics, with ''

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'' commenting: "At last, a British thriller with class...here's a gloss that usually comes with an import label". In a more measured but still approving critique, a '' Radio Times'' reviewer said: "Don't expect too much of this modest film...and you'll be agreeably entertained by an efficiently directed work graced by many recognisable faces".''That Woman Opposite'' information page
In May 2011 the film was issued on DVD by Renown Films , as well as another film starring Petula Clark MADAME LOUISE. this was after a prolonged email campaign organised by Petula Clark fans .''Retrieved 11-08-2010''

Plot

In a town on the French coast, English antiques dealer Maurice Lawes (

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

) is a witness to the night-time murder of a gendarme. The killer spots Lawes at his window, and realises he has been seen. The following evening, Lawes' daughter Janice (

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

) finds her father also murdered. An investigation is launched by the local police and a private insurance investigator Dermot Kinross (O'Herlihy). The initial assumption – that Lawes was murdered by the gendarme's killer to prevent identification – soon comes into question as several other individuals connected to Lawes are revealed to have plausible motives for the murder. Lawes' son Toby (

Jack Watling Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child; and made his stage debut in ''Where ...

) is found to have been embezzling funds from his father to pay off a blackmailing ex-mistress; Toby's fiancée Eve (Kirk), living directly opposite the murder scene, is investigated and found to have in her possession bloodstained clothing which she cannot satisfactorily explain away. Eve's ex-husband Ned (Franklyn) turns out to have a particular interest in a rare snuffbox from Lawes' personal collection which is discovered to be missing, and may have killed Lawes when disturbed in the process of burglary. Eve comes under particular scrutiny as it is considered she could have been an accomplice of either Toby or Ned. It falls to Kinross to unravel the actual chain of events and arrive at the correct solution.

Cast

as Eve Atwood * Dan O'Herlihy as Dermot Kinross *

as Ned Atwood *

as Toby Lawes *

as Sir Maurice Lawes *

as Janice Lawes *

Guido Lorraine Guido Lorraine (2 September 1912 – 31 December 2009) was a Polish-born actor, musician and singer, known primarily for his roles in war films. He was also sometimes known by the stage name Guy Borucki. Lorraine appeared in twenty-eight films ...

as Aristide Goron * Margaret Withers as Lady Helena Lawes * Tita Dane as Marie Latour * Robert Raikes as Bill * André Charisse as Gaston * Jacques Cey as Busson * Irene Moore as Diana

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:That Woman Opposite 1957 films 1957 crime films Films directed by Compton Bennett 1950s English-language films British black-and-white films Films set in France Films based on American novels British crime films 1950s British films