At the Villa Rose (1930 film)

At the Villa Rose is a 1930 British mystery film directed by Leslie S. Hiscott and starring Norah Baring, Richard Cooper and Austin Trevor.^[1] It marked the screen debut of Northern Irish actor Trevor. It was released in the United States under the alternative title of Mystery at the Villa Rose.

Production

The film is based on the 1910 novel At the Villa Rose by A.E.W. Mason^[2] and features his fictional detective Inspector Hanuad. It was made at Twickenham Film Studios in St Margarets, Middlesex. A French-language version was made simultaneously at Twickenham and the production was announced as being the first bilingual film made in Britain.^[3]

Cast

• Norah Baring - Celia Harland
• Richard Cooper - Inspector Hanaud
• Austin Trevor - Ricardo
• Barbara Gott - Madame D'Auvray
• Francis Lister - Weathermill
• Amy Brandon Thomas - Mrs Starling
• Violet Farebrother - Helen
• John F. Hamilton - Mr Starling

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote, ""Mystery at the Villa Rose," a British audible film of A. E. W. Mason's novel, "At the Villa Rose," which is now at the Cameo, is baffling in more ways than one, for the vocal reproduction often is so "tubby" that it is not always possible to understand what the players are saying. The original story possessed possibilities for quite a good picture, but this screen effort has been handled so amateurishly that one really does not care who poisoned Madame D'Auvray." ^[4]

References

1. ↑ "At the Villa Rose (1930)". BFI. 
2. ↑ "Mystery at the Villa Rose (1930)". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2012. 
3. ↑ Richards p.41-42
4. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9902E0DF1238E03ABC4A53DFB066838B629EDE

Bibliography

• Richards, Jeffrey (ed.) The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema, 1929-1939. I.B. Tauris, 1998.

External links

• At the Villa Rose at the Internet Movie Database