Trent's Last Case (film)
Encyclopedia
Trent's Last Case is a British
detective film directed by Herbert Wilcox
and starring Michael Wilding
, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles
and John McCallum
. It was based on the novel Trent's Last Case
by E. C. Bentley, and had been filmed previously in the UK with Clive Brook in 1920, and in a 1929 US version
.
is found dead at his Hampshire
home. The Record newspaper assigns its leading investigative reporter, Phillip Trent, to the case. In spite of the police cordon
, he manages to gain entry to the house by posing as a relative. While there he manages to pick up some of the background to the case from Inspector Murch, the Irish detective leading the investiation. Despite Murch's suggestion that the death is suicide
, Trent quickly becomes convinced that it was in fact murder
.
At the inquest
, the coroner swiftly concludes that the deceased, Sigsbee Manderson, had killed himself. Trent, however, is given permission by his editor to continue to pursue the story. His attention is drawn to Manderson's widow, Margaret.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
detective film directed by Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...
and starring Michael Wilding
Michael Wilding (actor)
-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
and John McCallum
John McCallum (actor)
John Neil McCallum, AO, CBE was an Australian theatre and film actor. He was also a television producer.McCallum was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1918, son of theatre owner and entrepreneur John Neil McCallum Sr., who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of...
. It was based on the novel Trent's Last Case
Trent's Last Case
Trent's Last Case is a detective novel written by E.C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character reappeared subsequently in the novel Trent's Own Case and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes .-Plot summary:...
by E. C. Bentley, and had been filmed previously in the UK with Clive Brook in 1920, and in a 1929 US version
Trent's Last Case (1929 film)
Trent's Last Case is an American detective film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Raymond Griffith, Marceline Day, Raymond Hatton, and Donald Crisp, and released by Fox Film Corporation...
.
Plot
A major international financierFinancier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
is found dead at his Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
home. The Record newspaper assigns its leading investigative reporter, Phillip Trent, to the case. In spite of the police cordon
Cordon
A cordon is also a line of people, military posts, or ships surrounding an area to close or guard it.Cordon may also refer to:* Cordon and search, a military operation...
, he manages to gain entry to the house by posing as a relative. While there he manages to pick up some of the background to the case from Inspector Murch, the Irish detective leading the investiation. Despite Murch's suggestion that the death is suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, Trent quickly becomes convinced that it was in fact murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
At the inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
, the coroner swiftly concludes that the deceased, Sigsbee Manderson, had killed himself. Trent, however, is given permission by his editor to continue to pursue the story. His attention is drawn to Manderson's widow, Margaret.
Cast
- Michael WildingMichael Wilding (actor)-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
- Phillip Trent - Margaret Lockwood - Margaret Manderson
- Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
- Sigsbee Manderson - John McCallumJohn McCallum (actor)John Neil McCallum, AO, CBE was an Australian theatre and film actor. He was also a television producer.McCallum was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1918, son of theatre owner and entrepreneur John Neil McCallum Sr., who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of...
- John Marlowe - Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
- Burton Cupples - Hugh McDermottHugh McDermott (actor)Hugh McDermott was a British actor who made a number of film and television appearances between 1936 and 1972. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1908 and made his screen debut in Well Done, Henry and followed it up with an appearance as HM Stanley in David Livingstone...
- Calvin C. Bunner - Jack McNaughton - Mr Martin, the butler
- Sam KyddSam KyddSam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
- Inspector Murch - Henry EdwardsHenry Edwards (actor)Henry Edwards was an English actor and film director. He appeared in 81 films between 1915 and 1952. He also directed 67 films between 1915 and 1937...
- Coroner - Geoffrey BayldonGeoffrey BayldonGeoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
- Reporter in court - Robert Cawdron - PC
- John ChandosJohn Chandos (actor)John Chandos was a British film and television actor.-Filmography:* 49th Parallel * The Next of Kin * The First of the Few...
- Tim O'Rielly - Ben Williams, Jimmy, the reporter
- Kenneth WilliamsKenneth WilliamsKenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
- Horace Evans, the junior gardener