''Miss Tulip Stays the Night'' is a 1955 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

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

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wi ...

and starring

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was pr ...

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent ...

Jack Hulbert John Norman Hulbert (24 April 189225 March 1978) was a British actor, director, screenwriter and singer, specializing primarily in comedy productions, and often working alongside his wife (Dame) Cicely Courtneidge. Biography Born in Ely, Ca ...

and

Cicely Courtneidge Dame Esmerelda Cicely Courtneidge, (1 April 1893 – 26 April 1980) was an Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer. The daughter of the producer and playwright Robert Courtneidge, she was appearing in his productions in the West En ...

. The screenplay concerns a crime writer and his wife who stay at a country house, where a mysterious corpse appears. It was also known as Dead by Morning. It was the last major feature film from director Leslie Arliss.

Plot

A novelist (Patrick Holt) and his wife (Diana Dors) are sleeping peacefully in their new cottage when a mysterious older lady (Cicely Courtneidge) arrives, apparently stranded in a storm. She hands the writer her gun and some jewellery for safe-keeping, and asks for a bed for the night. Unfortunately, someone shoots her during the night and the author is accused of the crime. He is forced to turn detective to defend himself.

Cast

- Kate Dax *

- Andrew Dax *

- Constable Feathers *

- Millicent Tulip/Angela Tulip *

A. E. Matthews Alfred Edward Matthews (22 November 186925 July 1960), known as A. E. Matthews, was an English actor who played numerous character roles on the stage and in film for eight decades. Already middle-aged when films began production, he enjoyed inc ...

- Mr Potts *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

- Inspector Thorne * Pat Terry-Thomas da Patlanski- Judith Gale * George Roderick - Sergeant Akers *

Brian Oulton Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and ret ...

- Dr. Willis * Ian Wilson - Police photographer * Archie Terry-Thomas - Archie Dax og

Production

The script was based on radio play by

Nan Marriott-Watson Nan Marriott-Watson was a British character actress and Broadway theatre performer born 31 August 1899 in West Derby, Lancashire. A character actress in the 1950s, 60s and '70s, she played the famous character of Doris Archer in The Archers from 1 ...

. This had been performed on Australian radio in 1948.

Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

was reportedly offered the lead. Hulbert and Courtnidge's casting was announced in August 1954. It was the first time they had made a film together since 1939. It was the first film made by a company formed by ex-publicity officer William Luckwell and D Winn. Producer John Douglas did sound on early Hulbert films and director Leslie Arliss had written scripts for Courtidge and Hulbert. It was shot at the studio at Walton on Thames. Filming took place in July 1954. Dors' fee was £1,500.

Critical reception

The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' called it "a remarkably poor piece of craftsmanship in almost every sense." The ''Manchester Guardian'' said "the stupendous silliness of its plot and dialogue gives a certain wild period charm" to the movie. ''

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 ...

'' called the film "badly done on all counts"; whereas ''The Digital Fix'' wrote, "''Miss Tulip'' manages to combine comedy and murder with efficient ease". ''Filmink'' argued the film should have focused on Dors rather than Holt.

References

External links

*
Miss Tulip Stays the Night
at BFI
Miss Tulip Stays the Night
at Letterbox DVD {{Leslie Arliss 1955 films 1950s crime comedy films Films directed by Leslie Arliss British crime comedy films 1955 comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films British black-and-white films