Serena **** (1962, Emrys Jones, Honor Blackman, Patrick Holt, Bruce Beeby, John Horsley) – Classic Movie Review 13,680

The slick and satisfying British 1962 black and white crime thriller film Serena has a clever, twisty plot, and good stars in Emrys Jones, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt.

Director Peter Maxwell’s British 1962 British second feature black and white crime thriller film Serena, from Butcher’s Film Service, stars Emrys Jones, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt.

Womanising London painter Howard Rogers (Emrys Jones)’s infidelity is revealed after a woman is found dead in a remote country cottage, her face so badly disfigured by two shotgun blasts that her identity is uncertain. The victim initially appears to be Howard Rogers (Jones)’s estranged wife Ann Rogers (Honor Blackman), the owner of the cottage, but, on identification in the morgue, her right leg birthmark is not found to be on the body. Then Ann turns up at the artist’s London house alive and well, and looking lovely, surprising both the artist and the police.

The police tell her a woman has been murdered in her home, most likely in mistake for her, so her life would now be still in danger. She reveals that she was seeking a reunion with her husband Howard, who still loves her, and is being followed around by a strange woman whom she had taken for a detective, probably hired by Howard, who denies any such thing.

The murdered woman may be Ann’s friend, Claire Matthews, who was sharing her house and is now missing, or the artist’s mistress, Serena Vaughan, who is now also missing. But did Jones’s wife Honor Blackman already know about it?

Patrick Holt is Detective Chief Inspector Gregory from Scotland Yard, the inspector on the case, who finds that things are not quite as they seem. Bruce Beeby plays his police partner, Sergeant Conway.

The acting is entirely skilled and the writing clever in this nifty, fast-moving little murder mystery thriller with a twisty course and a satisfying ending, all slickly handled by director Peter Maxwell. It’s hard to imagine this being better done as a Sixties British black-and-white second feature crime thriller.

Emrys Jones and Honor Blackman hit the target as the smoothly alluring, possibly devious, certainly shifty star couple. Patrick Holt is tremendously good as the quietly, politely dogged Inspector Gregory, forming a nice double act with Bruce Beeby as his canny sidekick Sergeant Conway. John Horsley as the solicitor Mr Fisher and Vi Stevens as the near-deaf cockney landlady are both especially entertaining in support.

It runs just 60 minutes.

It is written by Edward Abraham (story and screenplay), Valerie Abraham (story) and Reginald Hearne (screenplay), who also has a small acting role as the doctor.

It is made and released by Butcher’s Film Service. It was shot in April 1962 on location in London and Surrey and at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England.

It is released on October 11, 1962.

Cast: Emrys Jones as Howard Rogers, Honor Blackman as Ann Rogers, Patrick Holt as Inspector Gregory, Bruce Beeby as Sergeant Conway, John Horsley as Mr Fisher, Robert Perceval as bank manager, Vi Stevens as landlady, Wally Patch as barman, Peter Glaze as Victoria station clerk, Reginald Hearne [Reggie Hearne[ as the doctor, Gerry Duggan, Howard Greene as River Police Sergeant, Benedicta Leigh as Policewoman Scott, Barry Linehan as forensic chemist, Bill Mills as photographer, Frank Pettit as Fred, Colin Rix as Plainclothes Detective, Lawrence James as Uniformed Constable, Pat Shaw as Uniformed Policewoman, and Raymond Smith as River Police Constable.

Serena is directed by Peter Maxwell, runs 60 minutes, is made and released by Butcher’s Film Service, is written by Edward Abraham and Reginald Hearne, based on a story by Edward Abraham and Valerie Abraham, is shot in black and white by Stephen Dade, is produced by John I Phillips, is scored by John Gregory, and is designed by George Provis.

British film production and distribution company Butcher’s Film Service was was founded by William Butcher, a chemist from Blackheath. Among their output are Send for Paul Temple (1946), The Story of Shirley Yorke (1948) and The Hi-Jackers (1963).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,680

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