Percy Rhodes Movies
- 1935
Peter Haddon plays Dorothy L. Sayers' amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey in the Anglo-American The Silent Passenger. A scurrilous blackmailer is murdered by one of his victims, but it is innocent John Loder who is suspected of the crime. Making the casual acquaintance of Loder, Lord Peter Wimsey sets about to prove his new friend's innocence. It all takes place on a train trip from London to the English Channel, with Loder acting as bait to flush out the real killer. Dorothy L. Sayers wrote the original story for Silent Passenger directly for the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1934
Originally released in 1934 as Death at Broadcasting House, this musty British whodunit was distributed in the US in 1941 to cash in on the Hollywood-engendered popularity of its star, Ian Hunter. Set in a BBC radio studio, the story gets under way when a much-despised airwaves personality is murdered in the middle of a live broadcast. Scotland Yard inspector Gregory (Ian Hunter) shows up to piece together the clues and sift through the suspects. The solution of the mystery hinges on the fact that the victim insisted upon broadcasting in a private room, far removed from his fellow actors. Inspector Gregory provides this solution by coming up with a transcription of the fatal broadcast (this at a time when few radio programs were recorded for posterity). Elements of Death at a Broadcast resurfaced in the 1942 Abbott & Costello comedy Who Done It? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Hunter, Austin Trevor, (more)
- 1913
Johnston Forbes-Robertson, considered the greatest Hamlet of his era, starred in this 6-reel adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. Also featured was Forbes-Robertson's wife Gertrude Elliot as Ophelia. Existing stills and clips reveal that both actors were rather along in years. This is the sort of thing that can be compensated for in a stage production, but the cruelty of the camera--at least in 1913--exposed every liver spot and dewlap. Director Hay Plumb showed little cinematic imagination in conveying the melancholy tale of the Prince of Denmark, but the production scored on its sumptuousness and professionalism. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
