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Serena
Serena
	Title card
Directed by	Peter Maxwell
Written by	Edward Abraham; Valerie Abraham; Reginald Hearne;
Produced by	John I. Phillips
Starring	Patrick Holt; Emrys Jones; Honor Blackman;
Cinematography	Stephen Dade
Edited by	Allan Morrison
Music by	John Gregory
Production; company	Butcher's Film Service
Distributed by	Butcher's Film Service
Release date	October 11, 1962; (UK)
Running time	60 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Serena is a 1962 British black-and-white second feature ('B')^[1] crime thriller directed by Peter Maxwell, starring Patrick Holt, Emrys Jones and Honor Blackman.^[2] It was written by Edward Abraham, Valerie Abraham and Reginald Hearne.

Plot

Detective Chief Inspector Gregory from Scotland Yard, and his partner, Sergeant Conway, are called in to investigate the shotgun murder of a woman at Rosehill Cottage, a remote Surrey cottage. The victim appears to be Ann Rogers, wife of womanising artist Howard Rogers. Her face is so badly disfigured by the two shotgun blasts that it is hard to be sure of her identity. Rogers looks for a birthmark that would positively prove the body belongs to his wife, but it is not there.

At first, Gregory had considered Rogers as the chief suspect, but his alibi proves he is innocent. When Ann suddenly shows up, the identity of the murdered woman may rest on her friend, Claire Matthews, who is missing. A search for both the artist's mistress, Serena Vaughan, and the missing woman, intensifies, but Ann's motivations are also suspect. One of the women may know the truth.

Cast

Patrick Holt as Inspector Gregory
Emrys Jones as Howard Rogers
Honor Blackman as Ann Rogers
Bruce Beeby as Sergeant Conway
John Horsley as Mr. Fisher
Robert Perceval as bank manager
Wally Patch as barman
Gerry Duggan as Norman Cole
Peter Glaze as station booking clerk
Howard Greene as River Police Sergeant
Reginald Hearne as doctor
Lawrence James as Uniformed Constable
Benedicta Leigh as Policewoman Scott
Barry Linehan as forensic chemist
Bill Mills as photographer
Frank Pettitt as Fred
Colin Rix as Plainclothes Detective
Raymond Smith as River Police Constable
Pat Shaw as Uniformed Policewoman

Production

Principal photography took place on location in Surrey, and at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England.^[3]

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "Harking back in plot and presentation to the Danziger era of British second features, this film is nevertheless quite entertainingly done on its own level. The script manages one or two neat twists, and irritates only through a misguided determination to establish every character by an obtrusive trick of speech (the inspector, for instance, has to urge on his driver with "chop-chop" every time he gets in the car). Acting and direction are competent, and the glimpses of sophisticated life in the world of art will appeal to connoisseurs."^[4]

TV Guide gave Serena two out of five stars, calling it a "Basic programmer with a plot more clever than most";^[5] and Allmovie called the film an "interesting mystery."^[6]

The Time Out Film Guide described the film as "stagey" and, "[a] not very taxing mystery."^[7]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Rising well above the usual quota-quickie standards, this entertaining little whodunnit shoehorns about two hours of plot into its short running time. Directed at a fair lick by Peter Maxwell, it revolves around the complicated sex life of smoothie artist Emrys Jones, who wants to leave his wife for his model mistress. When the body of an unknown woman is found in a country cottage, inspector Patrick Holt is called in to investigate."^[8]

Releases

The film was released on DVD in 2011 in a double package with Impact (1963), also directed by Peter Maxwell.^[9]

References

^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
^ "Serena". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
^ "Film: 'Serens'." britmovie.co.uk, 2016. Retrieved: 29 August 2016.
^ "Serena". Monthly Film Bulletin. 30 (348): 10. 1 January 1963 – via ProQuest.
^ "Review: 'Serena'." TV Guide. Retrieved: 29 August 2016.
^ Brennan, Sandra. "Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related: 'Serena; (1962)." AllMovie. Retrieved: 29 August 2016.
^ Pym, John, ed. (2004). Time Out Film Guide. London: Time Out Guides Limited. p. 1055. ISBN 978-0-14101-354-1.
^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 819. ISBN 9780992936440.
^ "DVD: Impact/Serena." Amazon. Retrieved: 29 August 2016.