Marilyn (1953) British B Movie Starring Sandra Dorne

Sandra Dorne and Maxwell Reed in `Marilyn` aka `Roadhouse Girl` 

Marilyn  (1953). British B Movie. Directed and Written by Wolf Rilla, based on the play Marion by Peter Jones. Starring Sandra Dorne and Maxwell Reed. 

Marilyn was released in the US under the title Roadhouse Girl

The first part of this film was really not that engaging. Frivolous blonde Marilyn dreams of the high life but is stifled by her domineering garage-owner husband. She seeks comfort in the arms of his new employee, mechanic Tom Price (Maxwell Reed).

Her husband catches the two together and threatens his wife. Reeds` character steps in to protect her and before we know it the husband is dead. 

So far, nothing new. 

Immediately after this things take an unexpected turn. With her husband lying dead upstairs and her lover standing watching, Marilyn flirts openly with a stranger who has called  to buy petrol.

Once a  Coroner has accepted the death as the result of a drunken accident, Tom is quickly relegated to the role of employee. He is hurt, but she can`t see what the problem is.

She takes up with a wealthy man, the stranger who called on the night of her husbands` death, but even she admits he will be jettisoned when he is no longer useful or if someone more interesting (i.e. wealthier) comes along.   

Sandra Dorne`s portrayal of Marilyn goes from silly girl to psychopath in a very convincing style. Maxwell Reed seems miscast as Tom but overall the film turns out alright in the end.

Yorkshire girl Sandra (she was from Keighley) made many films in the `40 and `50s - all of them `B` movies I gather - and later appeared in popular TV series of the day such as Z Cars and The Avengers. I don`t know what she`s like in other films but undoubtedly it`s her performance in the later part of this film that saves it.

FOOTNOTE - This film was released in the USA as Roadhouse Girl. From reviews I`ve read I suspect the American version was edited differently and possibly had a slightly different ending. 

  

E P Oppenheim - The Human Chase

Not so long ago, we looked at the works of J S Fletcher and hopefully I convinced you that a writer not normally regarded as one of the greats was nevertheless capable of works that not only stand comparison with the works of others but also stand the test of time.

Now, slightly reluctantly, I have to mention a writer often regarded as a master of his craft didn`t always get it right.

Known in his lifetime as the `Prince of Storytellers`, E P Oppenheim is regarded by many, including myself, as a master of his craft.

His short story collection The Human Chase in many ways anticipates more modern ideas about crime fiction, it contains a story which is a personal favourite of mine (The Great West Raid). Sadly, taken as a whole it fails to convince.

The stories feature Oppenheims` sleuth Peter Benskin, a serving Police Officer. 

Benskin is unlike other fictional sleuths of the time. He is small and slightly built, he is troubled by some aspects of his work and is quite prepared to bend the rules on humanitarian grounds if he feels he should. When we first encounter him he volunteers for a particular assignment but is turned down in favour of a more robust, more competitive Officer. 

All of this could be a great deal more interesting than it is, but time and again there are signs of haste and carelessness that undermine a potentially great collection.

At the end of the day I would say that The Great West Raid is the jewel in this collection - and I already have that in an anthology.  

Just to make it clear, I am a fan of Oppenheim, I just wouldn`t recommend this particular collection.

Rogues` Yarn (1957) - British B Move Starring Elwyn Brooks Jones

Rogues` Yarn (1957) -  British B Movie - Directed by Vernon Sewell, Screenplay by Vernon Sewell and Ernie Bradford. Starring Nicole Maurey, Derek Bond, Elwyn Brook-Jones

Very nearly didn`t stay with this due to a bout of wildly histrionic over-acting by Nicole Maurey in the early scenes. Fortunately this did not set the tone for the film as a whole.

The film tells the story of a man`s murder of his wife at the behest of his lover. It takes the form of what used to be called an `inverted detective story` , a form invented by writer R A Freeman and popularised by the TV series Columbo, in which the audience learns early on who did it, how and why and the interest lies in the way in which the detective brings him to justice.

While Nicole Maurey and Derek Bond received top billing as the murderous adulterers, undoubtedly it is Elwyn Brooks- Jones as their unflappable and incisive nemesis that is the real star turn. 

In places it is like seeing a crime solved by the late J B Priestley as Brooks-Jones` stocky, pipe-smoking Inspector Walker matches his working-class wits with Derek Bond`s suave killer John Marsden.

The glaring weakness that has to be mentioned is the inconsistency of the scripting of Nicole Maureys` character. In the early scenes she is manipulative and unstable, egging her lover on to kill his wife as an alternative to seeking a divorce because that way she can get the dead womans` money as well as her man !

Later in the film, she undergoes a complete character change and is shocked that he is capable of considering a second murder, when she was perfectly happy with the first !

Having said that,  I rate this film very highly and would happily see it again.