Shot in the Dark *** (1933, Dorothy Boyd, O B Clarence, Jack Hawkins, Michael Shepley) – Classic Movie Review 13,606

A hated rich recluse, who lives in fear of being murdered, is shot dead in his bed one night during a storm but reveals the killer on a record, in the 1933 British murder mystery film Shot in the Dark.

Director George Pearson’s 1933 British murder mystery quota quickie film Shot in the Dark is based on a novel by Gerard Fairlie, and stars Dorothy Boyd, O B Clarence, Jack Hawkins and Michael Shepley.

Shot in the Dark is a fairly ingenious and fun Agatha Christie-style short English crime thriller that sees question marks over the death of a hated rich recluse, who lives in fear of being murdered, and, rightly so because he is shot dead in his bed one night during a storm.

He has left a message on a phonograph record, which reveals the identity of the murderer, but it is stolen. The wealthy old man’s relatives gather at his house to search for the record, but one of them is the person who killed him. So who really dunit? An entertaining O B Clarence plays local minister The Reverend John Makehan, a sleuthing vicar who sets out to find out. The 23-year-old Jack Hawkins is among the characterful suspects, as Norman Paull, the boyfriend of the deceased’s niece.

It is adapted from the novel by Gerard Fairlie by Gerard Fairlie and Terence Egan, and the screenplay is written by H Fowler Mear (uncredited screen-writer), with an amusing comic tone as well as an eye to the pleasing mystery. It is made by Julius Hagen Productions and shot at Twickenham Film Studios, Middlesex, in England, as a quota quickie for UK release by RKO Radio Pictures. During Julius Hagen’s tenure at Twickenham Film Studios, they specialised in production of murder mysteries as quota quickies.

H Fowler Mear wrote or worked on an astonishing 17 screenplays for Twickenham Film Studios in 1933. The following year he got to adapt an actual Agatha Christie story for the 1934 film Lord Edgware Dies, having previously adapted Alibi (1931) and Black Coffee (1931), both now considered lost films, all starring Austin Trevor as Hercule Poirot.

Cast: Dorothy Boyd as Alaris Browne, O B Clarence as The Reverend John Makehan, Jack Hawkins as Norman Paull, Russell Thorndike as Doctor Stuart, Michael Shepley as Vivien Waugh, Davy Burnaby as Colonel Michael Browne, A Bromley Davenport as Peter Browne, Hugh E Wright as George Yarrow, Henrietta Watson as Angela Browne, Margaret Yarde as Kate Browne, and Jack Vyvyan as Police Inspector.

Shot in the Dark is directed by George Pearson, runs 53 minutes, is made by Julius Hagen Productions, is released by RKO Radio Pictures (UK), is written by H Fowler Mear (uncredited screen-writer), George Pearson (adaptation) and Terence Egan (adaptation), based on a novel by Gerard Fairlie, is shot in black and white by Ernest Palmer, is produced by Julius Hagen, and designed by James A Carter.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,606

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