The Late Edwina Black [Obsessed] *** (1951, Geraldine Fitzgerald, David Farrar, Roland Culver, Jean Cadell, Mary Merrall, Harcourt Williams) – Classic Movie Review 13,569

The 1951 British crime melodrama film The Late Edwina Black [Obsessed] stars David Farrar, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Roland Culver in a murder mystery set in the Victorian era.

‘Was this the kiss… of a murderer?’ ‘Beware a love so dangerous as this’

Director Maurice Elvey’s 1951 British Victorian-era suspense crime thriller film The Late Edwina Black [Obsessed] is based on the stage play by William Dinner and William Morum, and stars Geraldine Fitzgerald, David Farrar, Roland Culver and Jean Cadell, along with Mary Merrall, Harcourt Williams, Charles Heslop, Ronald Adam and Sydney Moncton.

The Late Edwina Black [Obsessed] is a melodramatic, somewhat soggy murder mystery suspenser about Scotland Yard Inspector Martin (Roland Culver)’s investigation of the mysterious death of a Victorian teacher (David Farrar)’s poorly wife, whose body is soon revealed to have more than a few traces of arsenic.

The domineering Edwina Black has just died, though not entirely unexpectedly as her heart has been giving out and she is confined to bed, but some locals feel that her death is a blessing. Inspector Martin (Roland Culver) is put on the case and the local doctor orders a post-mortem that reveals Edwina’s body is full of arsenic, pointing to murder.

The brooding, henpecked teacher widower, Gregory Black (David Farrar), and his lover, Edwina Black’s neurotic, downtrodden personal companion Elizabeth Graham (Geraldine Fitzgerald), suspect each other, but there may be a third possibility. The imperious housekeeper Ellen (Jean Cadell) has her own secrets and good reasons for wishing Gregory and Elizabeth ill.

The story may be a slightly soggy stew, and ultimately a bit of a storm in a teacup, the Inspector’s favourite brew, but it is entertaining and involving enough. Much of the dialogue is quite amusing, and the interrogation scenes and in-fighting scenes between the lovers are engaging, and attention holding.

The excellent Fitzgerald and Farrar, plus the tremendous Culver and Cadell, keep the stage-bound, theatre-derived melodramatics simmering. A brittle Fitzgerald slightly over-plays, and a morose Farrar slightly under-plays, which works rather nicely. But Culver and Cadell are the stars of the show, over-shadowing the actual stars Fitzgerald and Farrar. Culver snoops in a matey, confiding, but relentlessly dogged way. Cadell is the Mrs Danvers of the movie. These two are the best roles, and the attention-grabbing actors deserve the above-title billing they are unfairly denied. The production is entirely adequate, with sets and costumes, plus Stephen Dade’s cinematography, making the most of an obviously low budget, looking loads better than a TV production which it could easily have been.

Also in the cast are Mary Merrall as Lady Southdale, Harcourt Williams as Dr Septimus Prendergast, Charles Heslop as vicar, Ronald Adam as headmaster, Sydney Moncton as Horace, Irene Arnaud, and Ernest Metcalfe. But they have virtually nothing to do. There are basically just the four roles in the film, just like the play, and it’s up to the actors to make both them and the show work. Our four stars here do that very nicely.

It is made by Romulus Films almost entirely in the studio at Isleworth Studios, West London, on sets designed by George Provis and with costumes by Elizabeth Haffenden. The house exteriors are Worton Hall, Isleworth, Middlesex, England, and the village Gregory cycles through is Shere, Surrey, England.

The Late Edwina Black [Obsessed] is directed by Maurice Elvey, runs 78 minutes, is made by Elvey-Gartside and Romulus Films, is released by Independent Film Distributors (UK) and United Artists (US), is written by Charles Frank and David Evans, based on the stage play by William Dinner and William Morum, is shot in black and white by Stephen Dade, is produced by Ernest Gartside, is scored by Allan Gray, and is designed by George Provis.

Release date: March 1951.

After opening in the UK in 1949, the play had a very short run, starring Signe Hasso, at the Booth Theatre, New York, from 21 November 1950 to 2 December 1950.

It was retitled Obsessed in the US, an absolutely pointless generic title.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,569

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