Murder in Reverse ** (1945, William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Chili Bouchier, John Slater, Dinah Sheridan) – Classic Movie Review 12,979

Cinema release poster for the 1945 British thriller film Murder in Reverse.

William Hartnell stars in the 1945 British thriller film Murder in Reverse as a wrongly convicted murderer, London stevedore Tom Masterick, who is finally released from jail and hunts down the person he was supposed to have murdered.

Writer/ director Montgomery Tully’s decent enough 1945 British thriller film Murder in Reverse stars William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Chili Bouchier, John Slater, Dinah Sheridan, Brefni O’Rorke, and Petula Clark. Tully’s screenplay is based on the story Query by ‘Seamark’ [Austin J Small].

William Hartnell stars as a wrongly convicted murderer, London stevedore Tom Masterick, who is finally released from jail and hunts down the person he was supposed to have murdered.

Masterick discovers his wife Doris (Chili Bouchier) has been having an affair with Fred Smith (John Slater). They fight in a saloon bar, leading to a chase on a docks crane, with Smith falling to his apparent death. Despite no body being found and Masterick saying he did not commit murder and later saw Smith still alive, he is sentenced to death, commuted to 15 years in prison. Finally released, Masterick is determined to uncover the truth.

Future Doctor Who Hartnell acquits himself very well in his star role, giving a grim and determined performance ideally tailored to the role, in an otherwise standard, fairly predictable suspense crime thriller drama, with a familiar premise and lowish production values, though the film does have an extremely good cast to recommend it. Bouchier, Slater, and Sheridan as the daughter Jill Masterick as an adult (Petula Clark plays her as a child) are all outstanding.

The cast are William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley, Chili Bouchier, John Slater, Dinah Sheridan, Brefni O’Rorke, Petula Clark, Kynaston Reeves, Edward Rigby, Maire O’Neill, Wylie Watson, Scott Sanders, Aubrey Mallalieu, Peter Gawthorne, Ivor Barnard, Johnny Catcher, Ethel Coleridge, Geoffrey Denys, Maudie Edwards, Dick Francis, Alfred Harris, Ellis Irving, Cyril Luckham, K Lung, Sonny Miller, Mary Norton, John Salew, Cyril Smith, Henry White, and Ben Williams.

Jimmy Hanley and Dinah Sheridan were married at the time. They divired in 1952 and he married Margaret Avery (1955–1970, three daughters: Jane, Sarah and Katy).

It is shot at Elstree Studios and on locations including Dartmoor prison.

William Hartnell making a personal appearance at the showing of the film Murder in Reverse at the Regal and Coliseum cinemas in Glasgow on 29 October 1945. On the right is the manager of the Coliseum.

William Hartnell made a personal appearance at the showing of the film Murder in Reverse at the Regal and Coliseum cinemas in Glasgow on 29 October 1945.

Murder in Reverse is directed by Montgomery Tully, runs 88 minutes, is made by British National Films, is released by Anglo-American Film Corporation, is written by Montgomery Tully, is shot in black and white by Ernest Palmer, is produced by Louis H Jackson, is scored by Hans May, and is designed by R Holmes Paul.

Release date: 22 October 1945.

As an independent production, it went straight out on general cinema release and performed well at the British box office.

Austin James Small (25 July 1894 – 15 January 1929) wrote under the pen name Seamark in Britain but his American publisher preferred to use the name Austin J Small. Several films were based on his many stories. He was found dead from suicide by gas inhalation in Kensington, London on 15 January 1929, aged 34.

The cast are William Hartnell as Tom Masterick, Jimmy Hanley as Peter Rogers, Chili Bouchier as Doris Masterick, Brefni O’Rorke as Sullivan, John Slater as Fred Smith, Dinah Sheridan as Jill Masterick (adult), Petula Clark as Jill (child), Kynaston Reeves as Crossley King’s Counsel, John Salew as King’s Counsel Blake, Edward Rigby as Spike, Ben Williams as docker, Ethel Coleridge as Mrs Green, Maire O’Neill as Mrs Moore, Wylie Watson as tailor, Scott Sanders as North Star landlord, Maudie Edwards as customer, Cyril Smith as customer, K Lung as Sam Wung See, Paul Ley as interpreter, May Norton as Mrs Peterson, Ellis Irving as Detective Sergeant Howell, Hendry White as Clerk of the Court, Aubrey Mallalieu as Judge, Alfred Harris as jury foreman, Johnny Catcher as American soldier, Sonny Miller as American soldier, Ivor Barnard as Woody, Dick Francis as Police Sergeant, Peter Gawthorne as guest, Geoffrey Denys as guest, and Cyril Luckham as guest.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,979

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