Candles at Nine

Candles at Nine
	Opening title
Directed by	John Harlow
Produced by	Wallace Orton
Screenplay by	Basil Mason; John Harlow
Based on	novel The Mouse Who Wouldn't Play Ball by Anthony Gilbert[1]
Starring	Jessie Matthews; John Stuart; Beatrix Lehmann
Music by	score composed & directed by:; Charles Williams
Cinematography	James Wilson
Edited by	Vi Burdon (uncredited)
Production; company	British National Films
Distributed by	Anglo-American Film Corporation (UK)
Release date	1944;
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Candles at Nine is a 1944 British mystery film directed by John Harlow and starring Jessie Matthews, John Stuart and Beatrix Lehmann.[2] A wealthy man jokes about being murdered for his inheritance but is then found dead. His money is left to a distant female relative and attempts now begin on her life too.[3]

Plot

After the mysterious death of wealthy old Everard Hope (Eliot Makeham), his avaricious relatives are little pleased to discover that his estate has been left to distant relation Dorothea Capper (Jessie Matthews), a young showgirl. The one condition of the will is that she must stay in Hope's spooky mansion for a month. After several attempts on Dorothea's life, detective William Gardener (John Stuart) decides to investigate.

Cast

Eliot Makeham as Everard Hope
Beatrix Lehmann as Julia Carberry, Everard's Housekeeper
John Salew as Griggs, Everard's Butler
Joss Ambler as Garth Hope
Vera Bogetti as Lucille Hope, Garth's Wife
Andre Van Gyseghem as Cecil Tempest
Winifred Shotter as Brenda Tempest, Cecil's Wife
Reginald Purdell as Charles Lacey
Hugh Dempster as Hugh Lacey
Jessie Matthews as Dorothea Capper the Heiress
John Stuart as William Gardener, Turf Commission
Ernest Butcher as Everard's Gardener
C. Denier Warren as Middleton the Executor
Patricia Hayes as Gewndolyn the Maid

Critical reception

TV Guide dismissed the film as a "Tedious mystery";[4] while Allmovie wrote, "the creaky pacing by director John Harlow makes the first half of the movie seem more soporific than atmospheric...the movie finally takes off when Matthews shows up on screen, and the visuals, the editing, the music, and the pacing all come to life. The problem there is that she looks a little long-of-tooth for the role she's playing, in terms of the element of wide-eyed wonder that she must display at her sudden good fortune -- at 37, even with lots of energy and great makeup, she looks awkward doing a role that would have been better suited to her in 1934. Beatrix Lehmann's portrayal of the housekeeper whose services she inherits comes from the Judith Anderson school of performing...and her creepy portrayal is one of the best things in the movie. There are also a couple of charming (and brief) musical sequences, one of them breaking the tension at just the right moment as the thriller's plot winds tighter. The whole thing doesn't hang together seamlessly, but it's an enjoyable diversion, if one hangs in past the first 18 minutes' tedium."[5]

References

Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). "The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film". Walter de Gruyter – via Google Books.
"Candles at Nine (1944)".
"Candles at Nine (1945)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
"Candles At Nine". TVGuide.com.
"Candles at Nine (1944) - John Harlow - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie.

External links

Candles at Nine on IMDb

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[1] Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). "The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film". Walter de Gruyter – via Google Books.

[2] "Candles at Nine (1944)".

[3] "Candles at Nine (1945)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.

[4] "Candles At Nine". TVGuide.com.

[5] "Candles at Nine (1944) - John Harlow - Review - AllMovie". AllMovie.