Inquest (1939 film)

Inquest
Opening titles
Directed byRoy Boulting
Written byFrancis Miller
Based onInquest
by Michael Barringer
Produced byJohn Boulting
StarringElizabeth Allan
Herbert Lomas
Hay Petrie
Barbara Everest
CinematographyD.P. Cooper
Edited byRoy Boulting
Music byCharles Brill
Production
company
Charter Film Productions
Distributed byGrand National Pictures
Release date
  • December 1939 (1939-12)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Inquest is a 1939 British crime film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Elizabeth Allan, Herbert Lomas, Hay Petrie and Barbara Everest.[1] It was based on the play Inquest by Michael Barringer which had previously been adapted as Inquest in 1931. The film was a quota quickie made at Highbury Studios to be used as a supporting feature.[2]

Plot

A young widow is accused of murder and enlists the support of a King's Counsel to help prove her innocence.[3]

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This unpretentious film has a somewhat involved plot, but it maintains suspense, has interesting scenes in a Coroner's Court, and crisp dialogue. The acting of the three leading players is good. Elizabeth Allan makes an appealing heroine, while the duel between Herbert Lomas as the Coroner and Hay Petrie as the K.C. is effectively put over. The settings are mainly of the Coroner's Court, which is satisfactorily presented."[4]

Kinematograph Weekly wrote: "Crime drama of purpose and ingenuity set for the most part in a coroner's court in a small English town. ... The brunt of the acting responsibility is shared by Herbert Lomas as the coroner and Hay Petrie as the KC. The duels between these two are, in fact, the picture.  ...Brief and unpretentious as the picture is, it has the punch of the thriller, together with dialogue that would not disgrace a debate. Its compass gives it universal appeal".[5]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Standard courtroom mystery adequately maintains its tension."[6]

TV Guide concluded, "not bad as courtroom dramas go. This was the first attempt by the Boulting brothers to give higher production values to programmer filmmaking."[7]

References

  1. ^ "Inquest". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Three Silent Men & Inquest". renownfilms.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Inquest (1940)". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  4. ^ "Inquest". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 6 (61): 217. 1 January 1939 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ "Inquest". Kinematograph Weekly. 506 (2704): 13. 21 December 1939 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 87. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  7. ^ "Inquest". TVGuide.com.


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