The Mystery of Edwin Drood [Blu-ray]

Director: Stuart Walker Stuart Walker

Overview

An opium-addicted choirmaster of a cathedral puts himself in a difficult situation after he falls in love with his nephew's fiancee. His love turns to madness and one Christmas Eve, he murders his rival and stuffs the corpse into a pit of quicklime that is located beneath the cathedral crypt. Any one after that who falls in love with the girl suffers a similar fate. The story is based on the final, unfinished novel of Charles Dickens.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/02/2021
UPC:	0738329256470
Original Release:	1935
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00
Sales rank:	27,615

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Claude Rains	John Jasper
Douglass Montgomery	Neville Landless
Heather Angel	Rosa Bud
David Manners	Edwin Drood
Valerie Hobson	Helena Landless
Francis L. Sullivan	Rev. Mr. Septimus Crisparkle
Walter Kingsford	Hiram Grewigious
E.E. Clive	Thomas Sapsea
Veda Buckland	Tope
Forrester Harvey	Durdles
Louise Carter	Mrs. Crisparkle
Ethel Griffies	Miss Twinkleton
George Ernest	Deputy
Zeffie Tilbury	Opium Den Hag
J.M. Kerrigan	Chief Verger Tope
Elsa Buchanan	Mrs. Tisher
Harry Cording	Actor
Anne O'Neal	Crisparkle Maid
D'Arcy Corrigan	Opium Addict
Will Geer	Villager

Technical Credits

John P. Fulton	Special Effects
Edmund Grainger	Producer
Stuart Walker	Director

Editorial Reviews

We will never really know whom Charles Dickens intended to be the murderer in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, but viewers will have no trouble guessing -- rather all too quickly -- whom the guilty party is in this adaptation of the unfinished Dickens novel. That fact is rather emblematic of other problems with the film's screenplay, which is too often predictable and too seldom surprising. That said, the writers have done a respectable job of transferring the novel's characters to the screen, as well as molding Dickens' sometimes-pagebound dialogue into atmospheric but acceptable screen dialogue. Stuart Walker has directly efficiently and with a touch of flair here and there; it's not outstanding work, but it more than does the job. But where Drood shines is in its cast, led by a typically marvelous Claude Rains, who conveys the lust, shame, desperation, and determination of his character with aplomb. Douglass Montgomery is quite good in a dual role, and Heather Angel is appropriately lovely and timid. E.E. Clive and Zeffie Tilbury also are impressive in supporting roles; one wishes the former had been given more screen time, as his character has been a bit too simplified for the screen. The Mystery of Edwin Drood may not be a great film, but the actors make it decent entertainment.