The Rossiter Case ** (1951, Helen Shingler, Clement McCallin, Sheila Burrell, Frederick Leister, Stanley Baker) – Classic Movie Review 11,860

Francis Searle’s acceptable 1950 British black and white crime thriller film The Rossiter Case stars Clement McCallin as Peter Rossiter, who is charged with the murder of his mistress, his disabled wife’s sister (Sheila Burrell).

Director Francis Searle’s acceptable if underwhelming 1950 British black and white crime thriller film The Rossiter Case stars Clement McCallin as Peter Rossiter, who is charged with murder when his mistress, his disabled wife’s sister Honor (Sheila Burrell), with whom has being enjoying an affair, is killed. But his wife Liz Rossiter (Helen Shingler) seems like a more obvious suspect, though her paralysis appears to rule her out.

An underpowered cast add little zing to this rather sluggish and contrived Hammer Film Productions B-movie of Kenneth Hyde’s play The Rossiters. The 24-year-old Stanley Baker has a small role as Joe.

The cast are Helen Shingler as Liz Rossiter, Clement McCallin as Peter Rossiter, Sheila Burrell as Honor, Frederick Leister as Sir James Ferguson, Ann Codrington as Marty, Henry Edwards as Doctor Bendix, Dorothy Batley as Nurse West, Gabrielle Blunt as Alice, Stanley Baker as Joe, Eleanor Bryan as Agnes, Ewen Solon as Inspector, Robert Percival as Sergeant, Dennis Castle as Constable, Frederic Steger as Hobson, and Anthony Allen as Arthur.

The Rossiter Case is directed by Francis Searle, runs 75 minutes, is made by Hammer Film Productions, is released by Exclusive Films, is written by John Hunter, John Gilling and Francis Searle, based on Kenneth Hyde’s play The Rossiters, is shot in black and white by Jimmy Harvey, is produced by Anthony Hinds, and is scored by Frank Spencer.

Director Francis Searle’s films: A Girl in a Million (1946), Things Happen at Night (1947), Celia (1949), The Man in Black (1949), The Lady Craved Excitement (1950), Someone at the Door (1950), A Case for PC 49 (1951), Cloudburst (1951), The Rossiter Case (1951), Love’s a Luxury (1952), Never Look Back (1952), Whispering Smith Hits London (1952), Murder at 3am (1953), Wheel of Fate (1953), Profile (1954), One Way Out (1955), The Gelignite Gang (1956), Undercover Girl (1958), Murder at Site 3 (1959), Trouble with Eve (1960), Ticket to Paradise (1961), Freedom to Die (1961), Emergency (1962), Dead Man’s Evidence (1962), Gaolbreak (1962), Night of the Prowler (1962), and The Marked One (1963).

Miss MacTaggart Won’t Lie Down (1966) is the first and best in a series of 30-minute films Francis Searle called Screen Miniatures, which he made between 1966 and 1972. Others in the series are The Pale Faced Girl (1968), Talk of the Devil (1968), Gold Is Where You Find It (1968), It All Goes to Show (1969), A Hole Lot of Trouble (1971) and A Couple of Beauties (1972).

Francis Searle was born on 14 March 1909 and died on 31 July 2002, aged 93.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,860

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