The Renown Crime Collection Volume 7 – DVD

3 DVD box set complete with Optional Subtitles
A collection of intriguing crime films spanning three decades from the 1930s to the 1960s. Some mysterious, some thrilling, all contain brilliant performances and direction, including Boris Karloff in The Mystery of Wentworth Castle, ghostly comedy in The Black Abbot, Jane Hylton and Geoffrey Keen in Devil’s Bait; Valentine Dyall narrating a nostalgic public information film on why crime doesn’t pay and a brilliant performance by Warren Mitchell in Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? Can you solve the crimes before the sleuths?

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The Shakedown (1960) – 89’ – Terence Morgan plays ‘Augie,’ a crook just released from prison and intent on getting his erotic blackmail racket back from ‘Gollar’, (played by Harry H. Corbett). Hazel Court also stars as the undercover police officer sent in to investigate. Donald Pleasence, Robert Beatty and Bill Owen feature in a cast that also includes Gene Anderson, Eddie Byrne, John Salew, Georgina Cookson, Angela Douglas, an uncredited Patricia Haines and Jackie Collins (credited as Lynn Curtis). Directed by John Lemont.
Murder in Eden (1961) – 62’ – This British mystery film was directed by Max Varnel and stars Ray McAnally, Catherine Feller and Yvonne Buckingham. After discovering a famous painting is a forgery, a noted art critic is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Scotland Yard sends in Inspector Sharkey to investigate, who, aided by French magazine reporter Genevieve Beaujean, uncovers a connection with the lover of the original owner of the painting. The cast also includes: Norman Rodway, Mark Singleton, Jack Aranson and Angela Douglas as a beatnik.
Mystery of the Wentworth Castle (AKA Doomed to Die) (1940) – 65’ – Starring Boris Karloff as the famous detective Mr. James Lee Wong, who is sent to investigate a shipping magnate’s murder, aided by an eager reporter played by Marjorie Reynolds and Grant Withers as a hard-nosed policeman. Using information from the leader of a powerful Chinese secret society and ‘modern’ technology to recover ‘lost’ evidence, Wong uncovers several conspiracies – but can he save the fiance of the murdered man’s daughter? Directed by William Nigh, the cast also includes William Stelling, Catherine Craig, Guy Usher, Henry Brandon, Melvin Lang, Wilbur Mack, Kenneth Harlan and Richard Loo.
Bash and Grab (1965) – 6’ – Narrated by Valentine Dyall, famous for his radio portrayal of ‘The Man In Black,’ in the radio series Appointment with Fear. This excellent 1960s public information film on how crime doesn’t pay highlights security guards dealing with a criminal attack. Directed by Barry Rutherford, it also stars Michael Goldie, Tony Taylor, Margaret Jordan, Richard Morgan and Ray Roberts.

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Danger By My Side (1963) – 60’ – With the help of the Met police a young girl attempts to track down the killers of her detective brother. This British thriller features scenes set in Soho in the early 60s and stars Anthony Oliver, Maureen Connell, Alan Tilvern, Bill Nagy, Sonya Cordeau, Brandon Brady, Tom Naylor, Richard Klee, Kim Darvos, Wally Patch, John Stuart, Michael Beint, Alex Gallier and Eric Dodson. Directed by Charles Saunders.
Where Has Poor Mickey Gone? (1964) – 56’ – Unseen for years, this unusual B-Picture features Warren Mitchell in a superb performance as a fairground magician, who is subjected to torment in his backstreet workshop by a group of young rowdies after they are thrown out of a nightclub. The tables are turned when the gang force him to perform his magic tricks. Stars: Warren Mitchell, John Malcolm, Ray Armstrong, John Challis, Christopher Robbie, Karol Hagar, Joseph Cook, Vincent Shaw, Tommy Eytle, Philip Newman, Kenneth Laird. Directed by Gerry Levy, who also wrote the screenplay.
The Black Abbot (1934) – 53’ – A rarely seen British crime thriller directed by George A. Cooper in which a gang of crooks use the legend of a ghost haunting an old mansion to help them kidnap a rich man. Stars: John Stuart, Judy Kelly, Edgar Norfolk, Richard Cooper, Drusilla Wills, Farren Soutar, Cyril Smith, Davina Craig, Earl Grey, Ben Welden and John Turnbull. Adapted from Philip Godfrey’s Gothic novel, The Grange Mystery.
Devil’s Bait (1959) – 56’ – Jane Hylton and Geoffrey Keen give riveting performances as a husband-and-wife bakery team who frantically attempt to avert disaster after accidentally baking rat poison into a batch of bread after an incompetent rat-catcher leaves some in their bakery. Can they retrieve the contaminated loaves in time? Gordon Jackson plays the sergeant called in to lead the search. A gripping film, directed by Peter Graham Scott, with music by William Alwyn. The cast also features Dermot Kelly, Shirley Lawrence, Eileen Moore, Molly Urquhart and Noel Hood.

DISC 3

The Secret Tunnel (1948) – 47’ – This family thriller, set in East Anglia, follows the adventures of two boys as they try to foil a gang of art thieves who steal a valuable painting from a basement vault on the family estate. With the adults away, it’s up to the boys to discover the hideout and retrieve the painting, but can they outwit the gang? Directed by William C. Hammond, the film stars Tony Wager, Ivor Bowyer, Murray Matheson, Gerald Pring, Thelma Rea, Frank Henderson and Michael Kelly.
Circumstantial Evidence (1952) – 59’ – Rona Anderson stars as an unhappily married woman who has fallen for another man, who seeks evidence that will give her grounds for divorce. She adopts the guise of a reporter to help win her case, but events become complicated by murder and blackmail. Director Daniel Birt paints a vivid picture of London in the summer of 1952 and the stalwart cast of British character actors includes Patrick Holt, John Arnatt, John Warwick, Frederick Leister, Ronald Adam, June Ashley, Peter Swanwick, Lisa Lee, Ballard Berkeley, Ian Fleming and Leonard White.
Night Was Our Friend (1951) – 59’ – Directed by Michael Anderson, this moving love triangle centres on murder, madness and loyalty. Missing for two years, an aircraft pilot comes home to his wife, who has fallen in love with another man. She returns to her husband, but his erratic behaviour makes her believe he is insane. During a wild nighttime walk he appears to kill someone and later commits suicide, but his wife is accused of his murder – will she receive justice and marry the man she loves? Starring Elizabeth Sellars, Michael Gough, Ronald Howard, Marie Ney, Edward Lexy, Nora Gordon, John Salew, Cyril Smith, Cecil Bevan, Felix Felton, Linda Gray, Edie Martin, Roger Maxwell and Jon Pertwee’s brother Michael Pertwee, whose play the film is based on.
The Devil’s Jest (1954) – 62’ – Set during World War II, espionage and sinister events unfold at a remote castle owned by a half-German widow, whose son is suspected of spying for the Nazis. Stars: Mara Russell-Tavernan, Ivan Craig, Valentine Dyall, Derek Aylward, Julian Sherrier, Lee Fox, Hamilton Keene and Eddie Leslie. Directed by Alfred Goulding.