The Orchard End Murder

The Orchard End Murder is a 1980 British short thriller film by Marnham & Harvey Productions. It was directed and written by Christian Marnham, and stars Tracy Hyde, Bill Wallis, Clive Mantle, and Raymond Adamson. It marked the film debut of Clive Mantle.[1][2] The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981 as a support to Dead & Buried.

The Orchard End Murder
DVD cover
Directed byChristian Marnham
Written byChristian Marnham
Produced byJulian Harvey
Starring
CinematographyPeter Jessop
Edited byPeter Goddard
Music bySam Sklair
Production
company
Marnham & Harvey Productions
Distributed byG.T.O. Films Ltd.
Release date
  • 11 January 1981 (1981-01-11)
Running time
48 minutes
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish

Plot

In Kent in 1966, a young woman called Pauline Cox (Tracy Hyde) accompanies her boyfriend to a cricket match and wanders off to explore the countryside surroundings when she becomes bored. She meets an eccentric stationmaster (Bill Wallis). After having tea with him, she meets his half-witted assistant called Ewen (Clive Mantle) who kills a rabbit which disgusts and upsets her. She runs off but meets Ewen again in the nearby orchard. Clearly having feelings for her, he kisses her, but she tries to escape from him on a pile of apples when she realises his intentions. He pulls her down, sexually assaults her then strangles her to death. That evening, the hunchback discovers Ewen with Pauline's body in the shack where he lives, and helps him to bury the corpse in the orchard. The next day, Ewen is arrested and breaks down hysterically when Pauline's body is disinterred.

Cast
  • Tracy Hyde as Pauline Cox
  • Clive Mantle as Ewen
  • Bill Wallis as Railway Gatekeeper
  • Raymond Adamson as Mr. Wickstead
  • Jessie Evans as Mrs. Trowel
  • Mollie Maureen as Old Lady at Station
  • Cyril Cross as Village Policeman
  • Mark Hardy as Robins
  • David Wilkinson as Batsman
  • Geoffrey Frederick as Cricket Captain
  • Peter Hutchins as Detective
  • Alexander John as Radio News Reader
  • Alan Neame as Rector
  • Rik Mayall as Policeman [uncredited]

References
  1. Group, Gale; Kondek, Joshua; Angela, Yvonne Jones (3 December 1999). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7876-3185-7. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  2. Speed, F. Maurice (1983). Film Review. ISBN 9780491030120. Retrieved 26 March 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.