Murder at Monte Carlo
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| Murder at Monte Carlo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Ralph Ince |
| Written by | Michael Barringer John Hastings Turner |
| Based on | novel by Tom Van Dycke |
| Produced by | Irving Asher |
| Starring | Errol Flynn |
| Cinematography | Basil Emmott |
Production company | Warner Bros. First National |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Murder at Monte Carlo is a British 1934 mystery crime thriller film directed by Ralph Ince and starring Errol Flynn, Eve Gray, Paul Graetz and Molly Lamont, the production was Flynn's debut film in a lead role in England.[1][2] The film is currently missing from the BFI National Archive, and is listed as one of the British Film Institute's "75 Most Wanted" lost films.[3]
Plot[edit]
A Fleet Street reporter (Errol Flynn) investigates the claim of Dr Becker, a professor of mathematics, to possess an infallible system of beating the roulette wheel at Monte Carlo. He refuses to take his fiancee Gilian (Eve Gray) along, but she decides to go anyway and report on the story for a rival paper. Dr Becker winds up dead and it looks like suicide, but Gilian is convinced it is murder. The finale involves Gilian getting all the suspects into one room and re-enacting the crime.[4]
Cast[edit]
- Errol Flynn as Dyter
- Eve Gray as Gilian
- Paul Graetz as Doctor Heinrich Becker
- Molly Lamont as Margaret Becker
- Ellis Irving as Marc Orton
- Laurence Hanray as Collum
- Henry Victor as Major
- Brian Buchel as Yates
- Peter Gawthorne as Duprez
- Gabriel Toyne as Wesley
- James Dale as Gustav
- Henry B. Longhurst as Editor
- Ernest Sefton as Sankey
Production[edit]
The film was a "quota quickie" made by Warner Brothers at their Teddington Studios in Middlesex, on the edge of London.[5] Flynn had been discovered by Irving Asher, the Managing Director of the studios, who put him under a seven-year option contract after cabling his head office in Hollywood: "He is the best picture bet we have ever seen. He is twenty-five, Irish, looks like a cross between Charles Farrell and George Brent, same type and build, excellent actor, champion boxer & swimmer, guarantee he's a real find". Before this, Flynn had done some work as an extra at the Studios in the film I Adore You in 1933, and had then spent several months as an acting trainee with a repertory theatre company in Northampton, before returning to Teddington seeking a way to break into movie acting.[6] The film was completed in November 1934 and Flynn left England for Hollywood soon afterwards.[7]
Release[edit]
The film was never released theatrically in the US. But in February 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of his pre-December 1949 films to Associated Artists Productions (which merged with United Artists Television in 1958, and later was subsequently acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in early 1986 as part of a failed takeover of MGM/UA by Ted Turner).
According to Filmink magazine:
It was pretty impressive of Flynn to have bagged another movie lead but it must be remembered this was the era of wet fish British leading men – Barry Barnes, Leslie Banks, etc – and Flynn would have stood out among the alternatives on offer; he had the smooth appearance and cultured voice so beloved by British producers of the time, but he also had an athletic, virile appearance… Also, it was a cheap movie – they weren’t taking that much of a risk giving him a chance.[8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Murder at Monte Carlo (1935)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
- ^ "Murder at Monte Carlo". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
- ^ "Murder at Monte Carlo / BFI Most Wanted". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ "Promising Australians / Fame Around the Corner". The Argus. 30 September 1935. p. 4.
- ^ "Teddington Studios Introduction". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
- ^ Connelly, Gerry 'Errol Flynn in Northampton' (Pub. Domra, 1998)
- ^ Tony Thomas, Rudy Behlmer, Clifford McCarty, The Films of Errol Flynn, Citadel Press, 1969, p. 23
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (2 November 2019). "The Films of Errol Flynn". Filmink.
