Rex Harrison was primarily a stage actor and indeed a very fine one. He returned to the theatre following the well-documented suicide of Carole Landis which effectively scuppered his Hollywood career until being welcomed back into the fold some fifteen years later.
The plot of this has eerie echoes of the scandal and the similarities are surely too marked to be coincidental. Should this be an attempt to capitalise commercially on that unfortunate episode it is one that is both shoddy and misjudged.
It is co-directed by Anthony Bushell who also plays the defence counsel and Reginald Beck. Mr. Bushell although a fair enough actor, cannot direct traffic. Mr. Beck is one of our best editors but happily this is his only directorial assignment.
Oodles of moody, noirish cinematography here courtesy of Wilkie Cooper and an atmospheric score by Benjamin Frankel. Unfortunately the entire cast sinks beneath the weight of the leaden direction and a truly atrocious script. As the wrongfully accused husband this has to be the nadir of Mr. Harrison's film career whilst the wondrous Lili Palmer as the faithful wife somehow manages to rise above the dismal material. One's admiration for Miss Palmer's abilities knows no bounds. Her best scenes by far are those with Anthony Dawson as the self-styled 'instrument of justice'. Mr. Dawson is wonderfully creepy and is basically warming up for his performance in 'Dial M for Murder.'. Brenda de Banzie makes her film debut as a 'respectable' landlady. This marvellous actress would have made more films than she did but by all accounts directors found her notoriously difficult.
One would like to accept the weaknesses of this film in exchange for its strengths but the former outnumber the latter to such an extent that one is fighting a losing battle.
Best to leave the final words to Rex Harrison himself. "My worst film? 'The Long Dark Hall' must be near the top of the list".
The plot of this has eerie echoes of the scandal and the similarities are surely too marked to be coincidental. Should this be an attempt to capitalise commercially on that unfortunate episode it is one that is both shoddy and misjudged.
It is co-directed by Anthony Bushell who also plays the defence counsel and Reginald Beck. Mr. Bushell although a fair enough actor, cannot direct traffic. Mr. Beck is one of our best editors but happily this is his only directorial assignment.
Oodles of moody, noirish cinematography here courtesy of Wilkie Cooper and an atmospheric score by Benjamin Frankel. Unfortunately the entire cast sinks beneath the weight of the leaden direction and a truly atrocious script. As the wrongfully accused husband this has to be the nadir of Mr. Harrison's film career whilst the wondrous Lili Palmer as the faithful wife somehow manages to rise above the dismal material. One's admiration for Miss Palmer's abilities knows no bounds. Her best scenes by far are those with Anthony Dawson as the self-styled 'instrument of justice'. Mr. Dawson is wonderfully creepy and is basically warming up for his performance in 'Dial M for Murder.'. Brenda de Banzie makes her film debut as a 'respectable' landlady. This marvellous actress would have made more films than she did but by all accounts directors found her notoriously difficult.
One would like to accept the weaknesses of this film in exchange for its strengths but the former outnumber the latter to such an extent that one is fighting a losing battle.
Best to leave the final words to Rex Harrison himself. "My worst film? 'The Long Dark Hall' must be near the top of the list".