But there is so much to like about Love from a Stranger. And the Hoffmanesque cellar scenes, brightly scored! Looking for some great streaming picks? by Agatha Christie. Not to be missed. But an old flame, Richard, expresses concern about her choice. Watch Queue Queue External Reviews 061 Philomel Cottage [Agatha Christie] A couple living in the English countryside has a few secrets to hide, from each other. Updated and dramatised by Mike Walker.Alex has an excellent track record in an e-commerce company. Too bad the scripts didn't match the performance. The film was remade in 1947 under the same title. Two events happen suddenly; a distant cousin of Alix dies leaving her enough money to give her an income of a couple of hundred pounds a year however her fina… It was 90 minutes long and featured Bernard Lee (later to be known for his role in the James Bond films). At any rate, while the suspense was slow to build, there were foreshadowings. Two very classy actors in a well-directed melodrama that's suspenseful and clever. Rathbone has been praised (and rightly so) in other reviews: for an actor best known as the swift-quipping villainous fencing master of the swashbuckler genre, or the alert and cerebral Sherlock Holmes, he puts on an astonishing act here as a charismatic seducer, while his theatrical training is clearly to the fore when he carries off his set-piece speeches about moonlight over the Taj Mahal... and manages to make them sound compelling instead of merely false. Read a Sample Read a Sample Enlarge Book Cover Movie Poster. "Love From A Stranger" is notable as one of the first film adaptations of Agatha Christie's work, and certainly the earliest that is commercially available today. The movie is worth watching because of the performances of Harding and Rathbone but the whole "Bluebeard" premise is not one I find particularly interesting or entertaining. But his charms begin to frazzle after marriage - he insists on them moving to the cottage (of the play's title) which is in an out-of-the-way location, and he slowly drives away all her friends. Basil Rathbone poses as someone wanting a room to let and sweeps Harding off her feet. (Miss Harding doesn't manage quite so well when it comes to her turn with the same lines; but then her character is supposed to be merely parroting his.). Interesting British-made suspenser - from an Agatha Christie story, no less - which feels quite dated today due to the low budget and a rather slow pace (though the atrocious condition in which it's available doesn't help matters any! As for Edna Best, who already played a sharpshooting mother in the original MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, she would have a few more years of movie stardom. | The play was televised in 1938, live on BBC Television, although the broadcast only went out through London. The middle part of the movie is very draggy. View production, box office, & company info. On Sale: 09/27/2011. But that's another issue. FAQ This is the definitive movie version of the story. Beautiful Ann Harding was noted for her long silvery blonde hair and her melodious throbbing voice. The acting is right on the button. **1/2 out of ****. The film was reviewed by C. A. Lejeune in The Observer of 10 January 1937 when she said that it "was a bit slow in getting started, but once the extra characters of the early scenes are dropped and the film gets the two leading players alone in their Kentish farmhouse, it becomes a hair-raiser of the first order." User Ratings In 1947 a US film adaptation was made by … Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. Were those Lalique glass-paneled doors? The last half of it builds up the suspense very nicely in leading up to a tense climax. There's a moment where the bride becomes cognizant of the fact that she is married to a lunatic. The score is by Britten; the precarious technique affects the sound's quality, the dialogs are rather badly taken, sometimes hard to understand. Ann Harding especially was a revelation -- a gorgeous blonde with poise and class who had beautiful diction -- an American mid-Atlantic "Seven Sisters" voice that was as melodious as a cello. Richard, one of her colleagues, is interested in forming a closer relationship with her, but when Terry comes on the scene he doesn't stand a chance. "Love from a Stranger" (original title) AKA "A Night of Terror" (1937). Some of the critics of the day compared the shocking ending to James Cagney's ending in "The Public Enemy" (1931) - not quite!! The dialogue is snappy and adds intensity rather than falling too much into stodgy melodrama. "Philomel Cottage" is a short story by Agatha Christie which was recently identified as the answer to a story-ID question on our site. Comparing this with the later version with Sylvia Sidney and John Hodiak, there is no doubt that it's this one that is the far superior film version. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. "[2], The Scotsman of 22 June 1937 started off its review by saying, "Suspense is cleverly created and sustained in this film version of the late Frank Vosper's play." One of her famous tales is “Philomel Cottage”, that is a suspense and mystery text in which a narrator tells the story of Alix Martin, a thirty-three years old woman who has a sort of relationship with his old friend Dick Windyford. In 1937 Basil Rathbone and Ann Harding appeared in Rowland B. Lee's movie version of LOVE FROM A STRANGER. A young woman, played by Ann Harding, wins a huge lottery and has big plans to see the world and do exciting things. Love from a Stranger is a 1937 British drama film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Ann Harding, Basil Rathbone and Binnie Hale. I saw this film under the British title "Love From a Stranger", and I found it interesting to place Basil Rathbone on the wrong side of Scotland Yard for a change.