The Clue of the New Pin (1929, Benita Hume, Kim Peacock, Donald Calthrop, John Gielgud) – Classic Movie Review 13,182

The 1929 crime film The Clue of the New Pin, with Benita Hume, Kim Peacock, Donald Calthrop and John Gielgud, was Britain’s first all-talking feature film produced entirely in Britain.

The 1929 all-talking sound British crime film The Clue of the New Pin stars Benita Hume, Kim Peacock, Donald Calthrop and John Gielgud.

A millionaire is murdered by his nephew who tries to kill the newsman following the case who comes after him. It is an interesting version of the Edgar Wallace thriller, remade in 1961.

It is most interesting as Britain’s first all-talking feature film produced entirely in Britain. Directed by Arthur Maude, it was filmed at Beaconsfield Studios, Buckinghamshire, UK, in British Phototone, a sound-on-disc system using 12-inch discs, originally running around 80 minutes.

Unfortunately, The Clue of the New Pin is considered a lost film as no copies are known to exist today. However a rare 21-minute 9.5mm silent film fragment exists on You Tube:

A Rare 9.5mm Silent Film – The Clue of the New Pin 1929 (youtube.com)

It was remade as the 1961 film Clue of the New Pin, one of the 48-film series of Edgar Wallace Mysteries films made at Merton Park Studios from 1960 to 1965. It stars Paul Daneman as Rex Lander, Bernard Archard as Superintendent Carver, James Villiers as Tab Holland, and Katherine Woodville as Jane Ardfern.

Another version followed. Director Massimo Dallamano’s Italian giallo thriller film What Have You Done to Solange? (1972) is also loosely based on the novel.

The first all-talking British feature film, Black Waters, was produced by Herbert Wilcox in the US because of a lack of sound recording equipment in Britain. Wilcox rented a soundproofed studio in Hollywood for five days at £1,000 a day. He struggled to get the film screened as only a few British cinemas were equipped for sound pictures. It is considered a lost film.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail (1929) was released after Black Waters though it is often claimed to be the first British talking picture.

The Clue of the New Pin is directed by Arthur Maude, runs 80 minutes, is made by British Lion Film Corporation, is distributed by Producers Distributing Corporation, is written by Kathleen Hayden, based on the novel by Edgar Wallace, is produced by S W Smith, and is shot by Horace Wheddon.

The cast are Benita Hume as Ursula Ardfern Kim Peacock as Tab Holland, Donald Calthrop as Yeh Ling, John Gielgud as Rex Trasmere, Harold Saxon-Snell as Walters, Johnny Butt as Wellington Briggs, and Colin Kenny as Inspector Carver.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,182

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