Marriage of Convenience ** (1960, John Cairney, Harry H Corbett, John Van Eyssen, Jennifer Daniel, Moira Redmond, Russell Waters, Trevor Reid) – Classic Movie Review 12,564

The intriguing and twisty 1960 British crime film Marriage of Convenience is based on Edgar Wallace’s story about a convict (John Cairney) who escapes and discovers his girlfriend with his loot has married the detective who arrested him.

Director Clive Donner’s 1960 British Edgar Wallace Mysteries crime film Marriage of Convenience stars Harry H Corbett as police detective Inspector Jock Bruce investigating crime most foul involving escaped convict Larry Wilson (John Cairney), in another intriguing though minor and musty Edgar Wallace filler thriller, based on his teasing novel The Three Oak Mystery.

The twisty plot point here is that the convict Larry (John Cairney) escapes from police custody on an arranged outing to a registry office when he is supposed to be getting married to his friend Barbara (Jennifer Daniel), and then looks forward to being re-united with his girlfriend Tina (Moira Redmond) and his stolen £20,000 that he left with her for safe keeping, but discovers that his girlfriend has married the now retired detective, John Mandle (John Van Eyssen), who arrested him. The duo have made themselves scarce, and so have Larry Wilson and the girl he was supposed to be getting married to. Harry H Corbett plays Inspector Bruce, the police detective now on the case, hunting down Larry Wilson, his girlfriend and his stolen £20,000.

The screenplay is crisply written by Robert Banks Stewart, based on the 1924 novel The Three Oak Mystery by Edgar Wallace. Marriage of Convenience forms part of the long-running 48-film series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios. London. Thanks to Wallace, the plot is quite complex and ingenious, easily the most satisfying thing about the whole film.

It may be cheap and a bit creaky but it is still agreeable and more than adequate as a thriller and quite fun and entertaining as an antique black and white support movie. Harry H Corbett and John Cairney are good actors, and make useful, if not brilliant stars here, both giving slightly over-stated, arch performances, but then they’re not ideally cast. It’s not very clear if Corbett is essaying a Scottish accent as Inspector Bruce. If so, it’s pretty bad. John Van Eyssen, Moira Redmond, Jennifer Daniel and Russell Waters are very welcome in support, though Van Eyssen and Redmond make belated appearances and deserve more to do in better developed roles. They both ooze badness so smoothly.

Clive Donner doesn’t manage a lot of tension, but he follows the plot doggedly, and turns in an efficient film.

It is mainly shot in rather cramped sets in the studio at Merton Park Studios, London, but the outside filming, particularly at the end at the English coastal village, is a big help.

It is the fourth of the Edgar Wallace series and the first to be released on the Rank circuit, as support for Man in the Moon in November 1960.

Also in the cast are Jennifer Daniel, Russell Waters, Trevor Maskell, Trevor Reid, John Van Eyssen, Moira Redmond, Patricia Burke, Leila Williams, Pauline Shepherd, Alex Scott, Howard Goorney, Duncan Burns, and Alexander Archdale.

Marriage of Convenience is directed by Clive Donner, runs 58 minutes, is made by Merton Park Studios, is released by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK), is written by Robert Banks Stewart, is shot in black and white by Brian Rhodes, is produced by Jack Greenwood, is scored by Francis Chagrin, and is designed by C Wilfred Arnold.

It starts with the disclaimer: ‘All characters and events in this film are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons and events is purely coincidental’.

Corbett returned for another Edgar Wallace Mysteries film: he plays Jack Burgess in Time to Remember (July 1962).

The cast are John Cairney as Larry, Harry H Corbett as Inspector Bruce, John Van Eyssen as John Mandle, Jennifer Daniel as Barbara Blair, Moira Redmond as Tina, Russell Waters as Sam Spencer, Trevor Reid as Superintendent Carver, Howard Goorney as Onion Seller, Alexander Archdale as Governor, Geoffrey Denton as Uniformed Inspector, Patrick Ludlow as Registrar, Barry MacLean as first warder, Basil Beale as second warder, Alex Scott as Vic Ellis, Patricia Burke as Woman in the Apartment, Pauline Shepherd as Evie Martin, Leila Williams as Secretary, Duncan Burns as Garage Apprentice, and Trevor Maskell as Sergeant Collins.

The Edgar Wallace Mysteries are:

• Urge to Kill (March 1960)
• Clue of the Twisted Candle (September 1960)
• The Malpas Mystery (October 1960)
• Marriage of Convenience (November 1960)
• The Man Who Was Nobody (December 1960)
• Partners in Crime (February 1961)
• The Clue of the New Pin (February 1961)
• The Fourth Square (June 1961)
• Man at the Carlton Tower (July 1961)
• Clue of the Silver Key (August 1961)
• Attempt to Kill (September 1961)
• Man Detained (October 1961)
• Never Back Losers (December 1961)
• The Sinister Man (December 1961)
• Backfire! (February 1962)
• Candidate for Murder (February 1962)
• Flat Two (February 1962)
• The Share Out (February 1962)
• Number Six (April 1962)
• Time to Remember (July 1962)
• Solo for Sparrow (September 1962)
• Playback (September 1962)
• Locker Sixty-Nine (September 1962)
• Death Trap (October 1962)
• The Set Up (January 1963)
• Incident at Midnight (January 1963)
• The £20,000 Kiss (January 1963) 
• On the Run (February 1963) 
• Return to Sender (March 1963)
• Ricochet (March 1963)
• The Double (April 1963)
• To Have and to Hold (July 1963)
• The Partner (September 1963)
• Accidental Death (November 1963)
• Five to One (December 1963)
• Downfall (January 1964)
• The Verdict (February 1964)
• We Shall See (April 1964)
• The Rivals (May 1964)
• Who Was Maddox? (June 1964)
• Face of a Stranger (September 1964)
• Act of Murder (September 1964)
• Never Mention Murder (November 1964) 
• The Main Chance (November 1964)
• Game for Three Losers (April 1965) 
• Change Partners (July 1965)
• Strangler’s Web (August 1965)
• Dead Man’s Chest (October 1965)

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,564

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com