''The Passing of Mr. Quin'' is a 1928 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 sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

which was co-directed by

Leslie S. Hiscott Leslie Stephenson Hiscott (25 July 18943 May 1968) was an English film director and screenwriter who made over sixty films between 1925 and 1956. He was born in London in 1894. He directed ''Alibi'' (1931), the first ever depiction of Hercule ...

and

Julius Hagen Julius Hagen (1884–1940) was a German-born British film producer who produced more than a hundred films in Britain. Hagen originally worked as a salesman for Ruffels Pictures. He then worked his way up to become a production manager in the Br ...

, starring

Clifford Heatherley Clifford Heatherley Lamb (8 October 1888 in Preston, Lancashire – 15 September 1937 in London) was an English stage and film actor. Filmography * ''Henry VIII'' (1911) * ''Bleak House'' (1920) * '' The Tavern Knight'' (1920) * '' The Mys ...

Mary Brough Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Ursula Jeans Ursula Jean McMinn (5 May 1906 – 21 April 1973), better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress. Biography Jeans was born in Simla, British India, to English parents, and brought up and educated in London. S ...

. The film was based on the short story ''The Coming of Mr. Quin'', part of the collection '' The Mysterious Mr. Quin'', which was written by Agatha Christie. It was the first British film to be made of one of Christie's works. The short story was adapted by Hiscott, who would in 1931 direct ''

Alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

'', the first film to feature Christie's more well known Belgian detective

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

. The film was made at

Twickenham Studios Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Plot

Professor Appleby has terrorised his wife, Eleanor, but when he is murdered, and her lover, Derek goes missing, Eleanor suspects the worst. A mysterious stranger, known as 'Mr Quinny' or 'Mr Quin' appears, and begins to seduce Eleanor, but his alcoholism takes over and he dies. Before dying, he reveals that he was Derek all along, and offers the girl to a rival, who promises to make Eleanor a happy wife.This plot also appears in the novelization, discussed above.

Partial cast

* Stewart Rome as Dr. Alec Portal * Trilby Clark as Mrs. Eleanor Appleby *

as Vera, the Maid *

as Prof. Appleby *

as Cook *Vivian Baron as Derek Cappel *Kate Gurney as Landlady The screenplay was novelised by G. Roy McRae (thought to be a pseudonym) for issue in 1929. The plot deviates radically from Christie's short story (for example, whereas Christie's Mr Quin is a romantic fantasy figure who solves the mystery of Professor Appleby's suicide, Mr Quin is here portrayed as Appleby's alcoholic murderer).

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachel. ''The History of British Film: Volume IV, 1918–1929''. Routledge, 1997.

External links

1928 films British mystery films British silent feature films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Leslie S. Hiscott Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Agatha Christie British black-and-white films 1928 mystery films 1920s British films Silent mystery films {{1920s-UK-film-stub