gordonl56 BLACK ORCHID 1953A fast moving murder mystery played out like a 1930's whodunit. The film stars Leslie Howard's son, Ronald. Ronald Howard is a top end medical type married to, Mary Laura Wood. Wood is not amused with how Howard seems more interested in his work than him. Wood is stepping out with other "gentlemen" behind Howard's back. Olga Edwardes is now introduced to the plot. Miss Edwardes is the younger sister of Wood. Edwardes is also a medical type and she and Howard strike it off. Howard tells Edwardes that he had asked his wife, Wood, for a divorce but the cow refused. Also in the mix is Wood's maid, Sheila Burrell, novelist, John Bentley and his publisher, Patrick Barr. Howard and Edwardes are in love and wish to marry. The only thing in their way is Wood. Wood suddenly decides she is moving home to South Africa. She is also willing to grant Howard a divorce. She thinks this is most humorous. Wood tells Howard that there is a UK law that forbids a man to marry the sister of his ex. Next thing you know, Miss Wood is creamed by a handy passing truck and killed. Now Edwardes and Howard are free to wed. That is till the coroner says Wood had been poisoned before the truck got her. Needless to say who is at the top of the suspect's list. Wood's maid, Sheila Burrell, never liked Howard and put a bee in the Police's bonnet about him as a suspect. The Police gobble up Howard when they find that the poison used, is the same substance Howard is experimenting with. Miss Edwardes, along with Howard's pal, writer, John Bentley, do a bit of detective work of their own. They turn up evidence of Wood's affair with another man. And what a surprise they get when they discover that the man is Bentley's own publisher, Patrick Barr. (This is pushing it a bit story wise)Barr is not happy with being outed and now tries to eliminate Edwardes and Bentley. A spot of sabotage on the brakes of Bentley's car damn near works when Bentley and Edwardes crash. Bentley is hauled in for a bit of repair work at the emergency ward. Edwardes, silly girl that she is, tries to tackle Barr by herself. She ends up at the wrong end of a choking and is only saved by maid Burrell arriving with a pistol. (Another stretch, story wise) Howard is now released from jail and into Edwardes' arms. The Black Orchid of the title is how Barr had poisoned Miss Woods. He had covered the flowers he sent Woods with poison. The film moves right along and at only 58 minutes, it does not over stay its welcome.The director was Charles Sanders. Sanders made quite a few mystery, crime and noir during his 30 plus years directing. These include, DEATH OF AN ANGEL, A TIME TO KILL, THE NARROWING CIRCLE, NAKED FURY, JUNGLE STREET and KILL HER GENTLY

secondtake Black Orchid (1953)A smart, crisp, and very British kind of drama with a touch of murder thrown in. It has a flavor of a classic whodunit, but it's never quite seen from the point of view of someone who has to solve the crime. Rather, we are wrapped up in this upper class world (at one point a woman says, as an apology, that she has just one gardener), and the crossed loves of two or three or maybe four of the characters becomes the meat of it. It is a deceptively noir titled movie, directed by British workaday director Charles Saunders, but it's not a noir one bit.For movie buffs there is the wonderful Leslie Howard's son, Ronald, who has an amazing resemblance (and something less of a presence) on the screen. Ronald Howard had a middling career, and many less than stellar performances on stage, and then screen, and then lots of telly, including a series of 39 episodes as Sherlock Holmes. More impressive by far is his wife, played by Mary Laura Wood, an even lesser known actress of mostly 50s era dramas and some t.v. Here she is sharp and alive, so taut you are never sure what she's about to do or say next. And she was in almost nothing else you can get your hands on, so enjoy her for what she's worth. There are several good secondary performances, as well, and indeed, if anything lifts this movie up a bit, it's the committed, convincing acting all around.And the clever, if formulaic, plot.

LCShackley This short, engaging mystery has more in common with television episodes than it does with full-fledged, intricate movie mysteries. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, so we can dispense with character development and move the plot along. There are a couple of red herrings along the way before the true killer is revealed at the end.It's the usual made-for-TV plot: man is torn between shrewish, manipulative wife and her cute, kindly sister. Wife is killed, husband is blamed; sister and best friend must find the killer because the police won't look beyond the most obvious evidence.Interesting trivia note: the "best friend" is an author named Eric Blair. Was this name chosen as a joke? "Eric Blair" was the real name of the author we know as George Orwell.

MuggySphere This one comes on the ABC often, and almost every time it does I manage to catch it either watching it or setting tape to record it. It's a great little film. Just sits around the hour mark but for that hour you have a lot of stuff packed in.The leads were believable despite the short run time and I liked the whole mystery aspect of it. I found that enjoyable despite the fact I've seen the film like a gazillion time in repeats and it's one of those little gems, that if you blink you will miss so to speak. Again I'd recommend this movie to anyone looking for a nice mystery to watch.6/10 from me.