''Busman's Honeymoon'' (US: ''Haunted Honeymoon'') is a 1940 British detective film directed by Arthur B. Woods. An adaptation of the 1937

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...

novel ''

Busman's Honeymoon ''Busman's Honeymoon'' is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh and last featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, and her fourth and last to feature Harriet Vane. Plot introduction Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane marry and go to spend the ...

'' by

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers ( ; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime novelist, playwright, translator and critic. Born in Oxford, Sayers was brought up in rural East Anglia and educated at Godolphin School in Salisbury and Somerv ...

, ''Busman's Honeymoon'' stars Robert Montgomery,

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate ...

Leslie Banks Leslie James Banks Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (9 June 1890 – 21 April 1952) was an English stage and screen actor, director and producer, now best remembered for playing gruff, menacing characters in black-and-white fi ...

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers (12 March 191715 July 2011) was an English entertainer. She was a dancer and actress, with a lengthy career spanning some seventy-three years in theatre, film, and television. She was a well-known actress and ...

Robert Newton Robert Guy Newton (1 June 1905 – 25 March 1956) was an English actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the more popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys. Known for hi ...

and

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

Mervyn Bunter Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and short stories. He serves as Lord Peter Wimsey's valet, having been Wimsey's batman during the First World War. Bunter was partially based on the fictional valet Jeeves, ...

Plot

Newly married amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey and his wife, mystery writer Harriet Vane, are looking forward to a quiet honeymoon at their new country cottage when they are reluctantly drawn into the investigation of a local murder.

Cast

* Robert Montgomery as

as Harriet Vane * Sir Seymour Hicks as

as Inspector Andrew Kirk *

as Frank Crutchley *

as Polly *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool R ...

as William George Puffett, The Sweep *

Joan Kemp-Welch Joan Kemp-Welch (23 September 19065 July 1999) was a British stage and film actress, who later went on to become a television director. After making her stage debut in 1926 at the Q Theatre, Kemp-Welch made her film debut in 1933 and appeared in ...

as Aggie Twitterton *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Reverend Simon Goodacre * James Carney as Constable Tom Sellon *

Roy Emerton Roy Emerton (9 October 1892 – 30 November 1944) was a British film actor. Earlier in his life, he was a sailor, stoker, docker, railway worker, and miner and served in the First World War. He played in a great number of popular London stage p ...

as Noakes *

Louise Hampton Louise Hampton (23 December 1879 – 10 February 1954) was a British actress. Although her career began when she was a child, it was for "the pathos and dignity of her elderly, motherly roles""Obituary: Louise Hampton", ''The Stage'', 18 Februar ...

as Mrs. Doris Ruddle *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 11 t ...

as Simpson *

Reginald Purdell Reginald Purdell (4 November 1896 – 22 April 1953) was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period, he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, such as '' The Da ...

as MacBride * Allan Whittaker as The Doctor * Ben Williams as Town Inspector

Production

Location shooting on ''Busman's Honeymoon'' began 4 August 1939 with

Richard Thorpe Richard Thorpe (born Rollo Smolt Thorpe; February 24, 1896 – May 1, 1991) was an American film director best known for his long career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His obituary called him "a capable and versatile director willing to take on any ass ...

as the original director. After the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the film was "shelved" until March 1940 with Arthur B. Woods appointed as director. Principal photography took place from 21 March to mid-April 1940 at

Denham Studios Denham Film Studios (''later dubbed Anvil Studios)'' was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda, in Buckinghamshire. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's ...

, as well as other locations in England.

Critical reception

Film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

in his review of ''Haunted Honeymoon'', wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Seldom has there been a film so pleasantly conducive to browsing as this leisurely, bookish fable of murder in Devonshire; not of late has there been one so steeped in the genteel tradition of British crime literature. A glass of port, at least, should be taken along with it." In a modern review, ''Britmovie'' wrote, "Americans Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings aroused some national indignation when cast as such the essentially British sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and his crime-writing bride Harriet Vane but they acquitted themselves satisfactorily, even though some of their thunder is stolen by a particularly colourful supporting cast that includes a morose Robert Newton, Seymour Hicks resourceful butler, Leslie Banks and Googie Withers"."Films: 'Busman's Honeymoon'."
''britmovie.co.uk'', 2016. Retrieved: 24 August 2016.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Maltin, Leonard. ''Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia''. New York: Dutton, 1994. .

External links

* * * {{Lord Peter Wimsey 1940 films 1940s crime comedy-drama films British crime comedy-drama films 1940s English-language films British detective films Films directed by Arthur B. Woods Films based on British novels Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films British black-and-white films Films set in London Films shot at Denham Film Studios 1940s British films Films scored by Louis Levy Films scored by Charles Williams (composer) Lord Peter Wimsey English-language crime comedy-drama films