''The Rocks of Valpre'' is a 1935 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 Henry Edwards and starring

John Garrick John Garrick (born Reginald Dandy; 31 August 1902 – 22 October 1966) was a British stage and screen actor. Born in Brighton, England, Dandy attended that city's schools and Brighton College. Dandy made his first stage appearance at t ...

Winifred Shotter Winifred Florence Shotter (5 November 1904 – 4 April 1996) was an English actress best known for her appearances in the Aldwych farces of the 1920s and early 1930s. Initially a singer and dancer in the ensembles of musical comedies, Shotter ...

and

Leslie Perrins Leslie Perrins (7 October 1901 – 13 December 1962) was an English actor who often played villains. After training at RADA, he was on stage from 1922, and in his long career, appeared in well over 60 films. Hobbies Perrins and wife Violet w ...

. 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 ...

. It was based on the 1913 novel of the same name by

Ethel M. Dell Ethel May Dell Savage (2 August 1881 – 17 September 1939), known by her pen name, Ethel M. Dell, was a British writer of over 30 popular romance novels and several short stories from 1911 to 1939. Biography Dell was born on 2 August 1881 to a ...

, and was released in the U.S. as ''High Treason''. The film is set in the mid-nineteenth century with plot elements resembling the later

Dreyfus Case The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

Plot summary

While staying in a small French coastal town, a young English woman falls in love with a French cavalry officer. Their romance is dramatically cut short when she is sent back to England to finish her education in a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, while he is wrongly accused of being a spy by a rival officer and sentenced to imprisonment on

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953 in the Salvation Islands ...

. She settles down to a comfortable and respectable marriage with a wealthy Englishman. Ten years later, however, she is threatened with blackmail, and her former lover escapes from Devil's Island to come to her aid. Seriously ill from his time on the penal colony, he dies shortly afterwards.

Cast

as Louis de Monteville *

as Christine Wyndham *

as Captain Rodolphe *

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

as Trevor Mordaunt *

Lewis Shaw Lewis Shaw (1910–1987) was a British people, British actor.BFI , Film & TV Database , SHAW, L ...

as Noel Wyndham *

Athene Seyler Athene Seyler, CBE (31 May 188912 September 1990) was an English actress. Early life She was born in Hackney, London; her German-born grandparents moved to the United Kingdom, where her grandfather Philip Seyler was a merchant in London. Athe ...

as Aunt Philippa * Agnes Imlay as Madamoiselle Gautier

Critical reception

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 ...

'' dismissed it as a "Sappy drama."

References

External links

* 1935 films 1935 crime films 1930s historical films British historical films British crime films Films directed by Henry Edwards Films set in the 19th century Films set in France Films set in England British black-and-white films Films based on works by Ethel M. Dell Films based on British novels Remakes of British films Sound film remakes of silent films Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-crime-film-stub

Plot summary

Cast

Critical reception

See also

References

External links