The Case of the Frightened Lady (1940)

It is easy to be put off - and mislead - by the first 10 minutes of this wonderful and unusual subtle film. Stiff and haughty Lady Lebanon (Helen Haye), severe mistress of all she surveys, commands one and all. Just a slight first hint that all might not be as it appears is given by the distinct insolence and knowingness of the two footmen. But it is insufficient to disturb the viewer's impression of stifling stuffiness to which the arrival of family doctor (Dr Amersham played by Felix Aylmer - epitome of dull probity) would seem to confirm.But Helen Haye's brief dialogue with Dr Amersham is very off kilter. Within five more minutes the pace and tone has suddenly stepped up, the film has changed gear entirely; lively and amusing, secrets and odd connections, enough for three or four films, are revealed, any one of which sufficient on its own to drive the plot, even to murder. The air is full of intrigue and possibilities. A handsome young architect arrives to draw up plans for renovation of the rambling ancient house and has caught the eye of the young lady of the house. He will have to stay a week. "Where does this lead to?" asks the sharp-eyed architect after spying an ancient door. "Where does it all lead to?" wonders the audience. By 60 minutes the developing droll class-comedy between policeman Ronald Shiner and his boss had me laughing out loud and the plot developments came at a bafflingly faster and faster pace. The end itself was an extended nail-biter.According to a review in BritMovie "The Case of the Frightened Lady" remains a classic for those who enjoy this genre".Seen on Talking Pictures

This Edgar Wallace mystery got two versions of which this is the second one. In addition one for experimental television was also made of The Case Of The Frightened Lady.The case is set in Mark's Priory the ancestral estate of the Lebanons who apparently down through the years have had a habit of marrying their cousins. Right down to today the Dowager Lady Lebanon Helen Haye wants another cousin Penelope Dudley Ward to marry her son Marius Goring the current Lord Lebanon. But she's got eyes for architect Patrick Barr who is visiting the estate to make renovations.Ward is the frightened lady of the title. For some reason she's got some bad vibes about the place and the people that inhabit it. But she's practically being kept a prisoner. That will change when the family chauffeur who seems to be one of the few normal people on the place is murdered. All signs point to a disgraced doctor Felix Aylmer who has a strange hold on the Lebanon family. Then he gets murdered and Scotland Yard is once again starting from scratch.Haye is some piece of work. She's so desperate to have Ward marry Goring that she's even willing to overlook a lot to get Ward to marry Goring and continue the family line.This is a good murder mystery as only the English can do them. It all leads up to a shocking climax where one of the principals steps way out of character or more like takes off a mask.

This film really surprised me. For some time, I thought it was just another stuffy old murder mystery with little to recommend it. However, towards the end, the pieces all came together nicely--resulting in a darn good mystery with a nice twist.The film begins in a weird manor home. Oddly, the Lady who runs the place keeps her secretary locked in her room at night--and this regal woman and her servants all are hiding something...but what? Soon, bodies start to appear here and there and you KNOW that despite a fine family name and titles that this is one screwy family with some dark secret. However, my assumptions as to what was really going on and why Lady Lebanon (Helen Haye) was so obviously obstructing justice were all wrong--leading to a wonderful twist and exciting performance by Marius Goring.In general, I am not a fan of murder mysteries because the mystery itself seems to seldom warrant the rest of the film. Here, however, the story really pays off and is well worth your time. Ignore the relatively dull first half--it really heats up at the end. Also, in an odd first, the comic relief (the Chief Inspector's dim assistant) was good and not too obtrusively stupid--a seriously flawed cliché in most films of the genre that try to inject a bit of humor.

Originally filmed in 1932 with Emlyn Williams (making his movie debut) and Gordon Harker (as Sergeant Totty), the movie was such a success that Wallace—reversing the usual procedure—turned his script into a stage play in which Williams (as Lord Lebanon) and Harker repeated their screen roles. Also in the 1932 movie, titled The Frightened Lady, were Cathleen Nesbitt as Lady Lebanon, while the lovely Belle Chrystall was Miss Crane, and Norman McKinnel, Inspector Tanner. A Gothic thriller of the old school, The Case of the Frightened Lady spins an intriguing web of mystery and horror almost from the very first. I must admit I was not impressed by its trick opening which was obviously designed to fool not only the audience but the critics as well. At the conclusion of the under-the-credits sequence, director George King commences the movie proper with an odd scene in which Helen Haye faces the camera, while she and Marius Goring declaim their lines in full-blown theatrical style, their voices raised to reach the back of the gallery. At any second we expect the camera to pull back to reveal that Hayes and Goring are standing on an actual theatre set, as was done, for example, in The Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938). But no! Before the scene has even concluded, both Haye and Goring suddenly abandon their grease-paint posturing and revert to more natural acting. So this was an expected "surprise" that happily didn't eventuate.Another critical surprise lies in the writing and acting of Ronald Shiner's part. Although the sergeant is designed as comic relief, Shiner, for once, doesn't over-do the mugging and even plays the role with a degree of intelligence. Needless to say, we expect gifted performances from Haye, Ward and Goring, but at times Shiner even manages to hold his own in this company. However, an even bigger revelation in the acting department lies in the excellent portrayal by minor character actor George Merritt who plays a major role here and even manages to steal scenes from the principals.King has handled his generous budget in fine style, making splendid use of his sets which, aided by Hone Glendinning's noirish lighting, provide plenty of spooky atmosphere. This brooding, riveting invocation of suspense, allied with rapid pacing and charismatic acting (even from minor players like Warwick, Thatcher and Scott), inexorably plunges us so inescapably into the maelstrom that we don't notice obvious contrivances in the plot and details that simply don't stand up to scrutiny. The script's faults, in fact, are inconsequential. While actually watching the story unfold, it remains a terrifyingly suspenseful movie experience.In the title role, the charmingly aristocratic yet disarmingly sensitive Penelope Dudley Ward exhibits just the right note of fragile beauty as the imperiled heroine.