Three Cases of Murder (1955)

Sadly Over-hyped

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

British anthology from the 1950's when the world was black and white, smoking was considered healthy & most people spoke with a plum in their mouths. Eamonn Andrews introduces three stories. The first is about a mysterious painting in an art gallery, the second a love triangle and the third a deadly tale of two political enemies. The first & third feature the supernatural. Each riveting story features a different director but they are all of a high calibre. I think it would have been slightly better had the second story also featured the supernatural, but only a minor quibble. As a film fan of over 35 years I only discovered this gem when it was screened on British TV two days ago. Superb.

This was a late entry at the tail-end of the portmanteau mini trend that peaked in the late forties/early fifties; coincidentally the trend was given a second wind by the four stories penned by Somerset Maugham and released as 'Quartet' in 1948 and here again the last of the three segments, Lord Mountdrago is another adaptation of a Maugham story and Orson Welles as the eponymous Mountdrago is the only reason to watch this. In a nice touch the three stories are introduced by Eamonn Andrews who could just as well have stood in for John Gregson in the second segment and chances are there was serious betting on the set as to which of the two was the most wooden. The first segment features arguably the most imagination and macabre content and concerns a painting in a museum that fascinates a member of staff to the extent that he actually enters into it and is unable to leave. Elizabeth Sellars, the closest thing to a real actor - if we discount Welles - in the whole thing, is wasted in the second segment and probably couldn't wait to get killed off. Wendy Toye had directed Alan Badel in his breakout role 'The Stranger Left No Card' a couple of years earlier and may have had something to do with his appearing in all three segments plus directing him in the first. Don't put off washing your hair to watch this one.

Eamonn Andrews is the link man for two tales of supernatural suspense and one murder mystery.In the first segment, titled In The Picture, an art gallery guide is lured into a macabre house painting by the artist and finds himself at the mercy of the residents who dwell there. In the second segment, titled You Killed Elizabeth, two friends fall in love with the same woman and when she is murdered it's obvious one of them did it. But which one? The final segment, titled Lord Mountdrago, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ruins the career of an opponent in Parliament and finds the man appearing in his dreams enacting retribution.As is always the case with anthologies, the quality of stories is mixed, with here the middle section being the one that is pretty standard fare. No such problem with the other two stories though.The first one is very creepy, even bordering on the terrifying as the tale reaches its conclusion. Once the story reaches the insides of the house in the painting, we are treated to a trio of odd characters living in a house that instantly conjures up images of horror. Ramshackle and creaky, director Wendy Toye further enhances the discord by using canted angles and personalised framing. An excellent story. Starring Hugh Pryse, Alan Badel and Eddie Byrne.The third tale is considerably boosted by Orson Welles giving bluster to the story written by W. Somerset Maugham. Not without genuine moments of humour, it never reaches scary heights but always it feels off-kilter, the revenge dream attack angle devilish and the production has good quality about it. Very good. Alan Badel co-stars and although the three stories are not related, he is the constant actor in all three. Grand old British trilogy. 8/10

I was first introduced to this film in a British Cinema class I took at the College of Santa Fe and it's haunted me ever since! Despite what the box claims, Orson Wells has a small part in the and of the film... but the real star is Alan Badel. The first segment, "In the Picture," deals with a museum attendant who's paintings have a real, and sinister, life of their own. The second segment, "You Killed Elizabeth," is not supernatural, and probably the film's dullest installment, but has some good character to it. The final segment, which shows Badel at his absolute evilest, "Lord Mountdrago," has Wells and Badel as political adversaries, and Wells' murderous dreams become real. Of all the small obscure murder mystery / horror gems to go unnoticed from Britain this is certainly the one I wish would receive more attention. It is chilling (my favorite segment remains "In the Picture"), well acted, and brilliantly scripted. Rent it if you find it at your video store! Watch it if it (miraculously) appears on television! Or simply go out and buy it (you won't regret it!). If you want to see the BEST horror anthology film ever, look no further than THREE CASES OF MURDER.