Death in High Heels

Death in High Heels
Opening titles
Directed by	Lionel Tomlinson
Based on	Death in High Heels by Christianna Brand
Produced by	Henry Halsted
Starring	Don Stannard Elsa Tee Veronica Rose
Cinematography	Stanley Clinton
Production company	Marylebone-Hammer Productions
Distributed by	Exclusive Films
Release date	July 18, 1947 (1947-07-18)
Running time	48 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Death in High Heels is a 1947 British second feature ('B')[1] crime film directed by Lionel Tomlinson (credited as "Tommy Tomlinson") and starring Don Stannard, Elsa Tee and Veronica Rose.[2][3] It was based on the 1941 novel of the same title by Christianna Brand. It was a very early Hammer Films (here Marylebone-Hammer) production and was released through Exclusive Films, Hammer's original incarnation.

Plot

The police are called in when a woman is murdered at a luxury Bond Street shop.

Cast

• Don Stannard as Detective Charlesworth
• Elsa Tee as Victoria David
• Veronica Rose as Agnes Gregory
• Denise Anthony as Aileen
• Patricia Laffan as Magda Doon
• Diana Wong as Miss Almond Blossom
• Nora Gordon as Miss Arris
• Bill Hodge as Mr Cecil
• Kenneth Warrington as Frank Bevan
• Leslie Spurling as Sergeant Bedd

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The acting of most of the cast is stilted and the only three who seem at all happy in their parts are Don Stannard as the handsome Charlesworth, Leslie Spurling as his assistant, and Bill Hodge as an effeminate dress designer. There is an overabundance of dialogue and, for a murder mystery the film lacks suspense."[4]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Its plot contains ingenuity and its de luxe dress shop atmosphere is not without glamour, and between the two it manages to triumph over a slightly amateurish script."[5]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "poor", calling it an "unconvincing thriller that hardly does justice to the author's original novel."[6]

References

1. Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
2. "Death in High Heels". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
3. BFI | Film & TV Database | DEATH IN HIGH HEELS (1947)
4. "Death in High Heels". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 14 (157): 77. 1 January 1947 – via ProQuest.
5. "Death in High Heels". Kine Weekly. 364 (2092): 26. 5 June 1947 – via ProQuest.
6. Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 203. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.

External links

• Death in High Heels at IMDb