''The Malpas Mystery'' is a 1960 British 'B' movie

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

Sidney Hayers Sidney Hayers (24 August 1921 – 8 February 2000) was a British film and television director, writer and producer. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Hayers began his career as a film editor. Among the films he directed are ''Circus of Horrors'' (196 ...

. Although originally made by

Independent Artists Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, do-it-yourself approach to recording a ...

Beaconsfield studios Beaconsfield Film Studios is a British television and film studio in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. The studios were operational as a production site for films in 1922, and continued producing films - and, later, TV shows - until the 1960s. Bri ...

, it was included in the

Merton Park Merton Park is a suburb in the London Borough of Merton. It is situated between Colliers Wood, Morden, South Wimbledon and Raynes Park. It is 11 miles (11.7 km) southwest of Charing Cross. The area is part of the historic parish of Merton i ...

series of

Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...

. When Audrey is released from prison, she finds herself embroiled with mysterious doctors, missing heirs, diamonds and murder.

Cast

Maureen Swanson Maureen Ward, Countess of Dudley (25 November 1932 – 16 November 2011), was a British actress. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Lady Dudley was the daughter of James Swanson. As Maureen Swanson, she featured in British pictures during the 1950s and ...

as Audrey Bedford *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian-born British actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, W ...

as Lacey Marshalt *

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early li ...

as Torrington * Ronald Howard as Dick Shannon *

Sandra Dorne Sandra Dorne (born Joan Smith; 19 June 1924 – 25 December 1992) was a British actress. Career Also known as Sandra Holt, Dorne was often known in the 1950s as the B-film Diana Dors. As a platinum blonde, she was a regular female lead ...

as Dora Elton *

Alan Tilvern Alan Tilvern (5 November 1918 – 17 December 2003) was an English actor. He was known for usually playing "tough-guy" roles. Life Tilvern was born 5 November 1918 in Whitechapel, in the East End of London, to Jewish-Lithuanian parents, who c ...

as Gordon Seager *

Leslie French Leslie Richard French (23 April 1904 – 21 January 1999) was a British actor of stage and screen. French was primarily a theatre actor, as well as a director, singer and dancer, with a varied career that included the classics, music ...

as Witkins *

Catherine Feller Catherine Feller (born 1939) is a British actress and educator. She is perhaps best known for her role as Oliver Reed's love interest in the Hammer Film Productions' ''The Curse of the Werewolf'' (1961). She appeared in '' Waltz of the Toreador ...

as Jinette *Richard Shaw as Kornfeldt * Sheila Allen as Frau Kornfeldt *

Edward Cast Edward Raymond Cast (1925–1994) was a British stage, film and television actor. Selected filmography * '' The Dam Busters'' (1955) - Crew Member (uncredited) * ''Private's Progress'' (1956) - Intelligence Officer (uncredited) * '' The One That ...

as Laker

Cinema release

The Malpas Mystery went on general release on the

ABC Cinemas ABC Cinemas (Associated British Cinemas) was a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. Originally a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), it operated between the 1930s and the 1980s. The brand name was reused in ...

circuit from September 17th 1961 as supporting film for Raising the Wind. Both films featured prominent roles for

Critical reception

''The Spinning Image'' called it "One of the best of the ‘Edgar Wallace’ series (if we accept it as one of the series), The Malpas Mystery is very impressively filmed for a cheap second feature and a step above the rather flat and boring items of the same period."

References

External links

*
The Malpas Mystery
at BFI
The Malpas Mystery
at Letterbox
Review
at Spinning Image 1960 films 1960 crime films British crime films British black-and-white films Edgar Wallace Mysteries 1960s English-language films Films directed by Sidney Hayers 1960s British films {{1960s-UK-film-stub