Take My Life

Plot synopsis:
Nicholas "Nicky" Talbot attends the London debut of his wife, opera singer Philippa Shelley, at Covent Garden. After her successful performance, Nicky runs into former girlfriend Elizabeth Rusman backstage, a musician in the orchestra, who asks for his help. She gives him her address before Philippa appears (and keeps his personalised pencil). At home, Nicky and a jealous Philippa quarrel over Elizabeth. When Philippa throws an object that strikes her husband in the forehead, he leaves in a huff.
The scene then shifts to a courtroom, where the prosecuting counsel reveals that Nicky is on trial for the strangulation of Elizabeth that night. A flashback shows the murderer setting fire to the body. When the killer leaves the flat, he conceals his face from a man using a handkerchief pressed to his forehead, leading the police to assume he has been injured there. Also, the pencil is found at the scene of the crime. The police take Nicky into custody.
Philippa goes to see Elizabeth's mother in Holland, then to an employment agency and Elizabeth's acquaintances, without any progress. Inspector Archer does, however, let her examine the dead woman's possessions and copy a bit of music. When Philippa plays it at home, she discovers that her nephew is already familiar with it.
She sets out for a school in Scotland, having ascertained that one of the masters may be the composer. Mr. Flemming, the headmaster, is disturbed to recognise her from her photograph in the newspaper. He takes her on a tour of the school. She notices that the school group photograph for the previous year is missing. When she plays the tune on the chapel organ, she sees in a mirror that he is perturbed. Philippa obtains a copy of the photograph the next morning and sees Elizabeth in it. Flemming becomes aware of this and follows her aboard the train. He confronts her in her compartment. They are interrupted when a man enters, but when the newcomer reveals that he is deaf, Flemming confesses to the crime, though it was unpremeditated. Elizabeth had threatened to divorce him for cruelty, which would have ruined him. After the deaf man leaves, Flemming destroys the incriminating photograph and tries to throw Philippa from the train. Fortunately, the deaf man returns just in time. Flemming then jumps to his death.
When Philippa goes to see Inspector Archer (still without proof), he introduces her to Detective Sergeant Hawkins, the "deaf" man who is not deaf at all and therefore heard Flemming's confession.

Tags: murder

Review:
"Take My life" is one of the better films of its era in British film making.
A Rank Film that catched the attention of Hollywood and brought its leading actress Greta Gynt to the film capitol of the world.
The merits of "Take My Life" is in its fast paced and skillfully directed hands of Ronald Neame.
The feeling of suspense is carefully distributed throughout the film via a dramatic developement that never leavs you unexcited or bored.
And The Rank Studioes gathered their best talents to make the film a minor classic of British film-noire style.
"Take my Life" was widly distributed all over the world and is remembered as Greta Gynts best liked film, both by her and her fans.
So take a risk with this film if you want to spend an evening (or day) of cinemagic style and suspense.
An opera diva gets mixed up with her husband in a murder mystery of extreme cruelty.
Brilliant thriller with a musical touch to it, the key to the solution being a tiny melody putting the primadonna Greta Gynt on the track.
This to me unknown actress dominates the film with a vengeance, never giving up on her lonely and heroic quest to clear her husband, wrongly accused of murder because of unfortunate circumstances speaking against him.
Francis Sullivan is domineering as usual as the prosecutor and as perfectly objective as the lawyer Jaggers in "Great Expectations" the previous year, but the most interesting part is Marius Goring.
It was Ronald Neame's debut as a director, and it matches more than well any sustained thriller by Hitchcock or Anthony Asquith.
Staring Hugh Williams and Greats Gynt this British 40's thriller is well worth a look..
Nicholas Talbot is the husband and manager of wealthy opera singer Phillipa Shelley.
On trial for murder he looks to be heading for certain imprisonment  but Phillipa starts following her own clues in an attempt to uncover the truth.I didn't have a clue what this was about until I watched it  so I had no preconceptions about it.
However it quickly became dull and only really got better when the wife started looking for clues herself.
I say layabout but he's actually the manager of his talented operatic singer wife Greta Gynt (Phillipa).
Cue sharp-witted Greta to go out and prove his innocence.This film travels along at a good pace and is basically a thriller.
The mystery element is taken away near the beginning of the film as the killer is revealed.
This doesn't matter and takes nothing away from the enjoyment of the film as Gynt goes after the truth and puts herself in danger.
The film starts with an interesting voice-over from lawyer Frances L.
First-rate British Noir Murder Drama.
This is a superb example of a high-calibre British postwar murder mystery.
It was the first film ever directed by Ronnie Neame, who is mostly famous for his classics 'Tunes of Glory' (1960) and 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1969).
Neame really shows what a brilliant director he was, not only coaxing excellent performances out of his actors, but keeping the pace and the tension despite the fact that the identity of the murderer is revealed very early.
Sullivan is, as usual, hair-raising as the prosecuting counsel, although his role should have been more prominent if the film had not been so short at only 76 minutes.
(One suspects things were cut out before release, as the buildup of Sullivan really does fizzle out without explanation.) The scenes towards the end of the film really do become incredibly menacing and powerful, as Marius Goring, who plays the murderer in an eerie and intense style, can be seen calculating what he must do next, and sets about it with the methodical determination of a man who now has nothing to lose.
Hugh Williams is excellent as the rather formal husband of Greta Gynt, an equally formal wife who is an opera star.
It is difficult for such people to cope with real situations of danger, as their behaviour is so mannered, even in their most private moments, that quick thinking and quick action are impossibilities for them, what with all the thawing out they have to do first, not to mention the necessity of changing for dinner, straightening the black tie, and making sure every hair is in place.
In this film, the doomed victim is Rosalie Crutchley, who really was a fascinating wench at that early age, in fact, someone to whom you can imagine almost anything could happen, and it does..
"The Walking Stick" starred David Hemmings and Samantha Eggar and was a romantic thriller."Take My Life" was the first Winston Graham book to be filmed.
Additional dialogue was by Winston Graham and Margaret Kennedy (who wrote "The Constant Nymph") so it is a very stylish film.Greta Gynt, Britain's resident sex symbol of the 40s (even though she was Norwegian) plays a rare sympathetic role.
She plays Phillipa, an opera singer giving her first performance in England.
She has a volatile marriage to Nicholas (Hugh Williams).
During the performance Nicholas sees a girl (Rosalie Crutchley) that he has known in former times and she begs to see him after the show.By morning the girl has been murdered and by an unfortunate co- incidence, Nicholas has been charged with murder.
(He has a quarrel with his wife - they throw things at each other and Nicholas leaves the flat with a gash over his eye.
The murderer also has a cut over his eye, where the girl hit him with a lamp when she was being strangled.)The murderer is revealed early on and there is a game of cat and mouse as Phillipa goes to Scotland, hot on his trail.
British films had their own brand of "film noir" and this is a great example..
As I scrolled down a list of Ronald Neame's movie credits prior to compiling this little review, I was struck again by the unbridled excellence of his filmography.
Ebullient successes such as 'Major Barbara' and 'Blithe Spirit' were photographed by him, and he would go on to direct such involving and memorable movies as 'The Man Who Never Was' and 'Gambit'.
Having honed his skills behind the camera while working with the cream of British movie-making talent, Neame made the transition to the director's chair in 1947 with 'Take My Life'.And what a brilliant first-up effort it proves to be!
This fast-paced and deftly-directed thriller sees Greta Gynt travelling to Scotland in an attempt to clear her husband, Hugh Williams, of the murder of an old flame of his.
With Neame directing and Guy Green photographing the movie, it is a real triumph pictorially.
The movie is further elevated, however, by a stylish and imaginative script and uniformly excellent performances.
Gynt and Williams offer refreshing sparkle on-screen and imbue their characters with admirable depth.
Some of the later suspense-filled scenes in the school call to mind Neame's background in cinematography.
Several wonderfully expressionistic scenes are realised as Gynt searches for evidence of the dead girl, and engages in a game of cat-and-mouse with Goring amongst the deserted corridors and rooms of the empty school and then on the train back to England.
The sense of moody desperation evoked in the last reel deserves special praise.This confident and consistently exciting thriller shows what a fantastic film-maker Ronald Neame was.
He demonstrates a smooth narrative style and expertly ramps up a thrilling level of suspense, despite the fact that the murderer is known to the audience from an early stage.
'Take My Life' is a movie that I wholeheartedly recommend..
Successful opera singer Greta Gynt and her husband Hugh Williams have a marital quarrel over an ex of Williams.
Gynt accidentally hurts Williams on his forehead, and he walks out to cool down.
At the same time, his ex is strangled by another man, but not before she hits him over the head with a vase, also leaving him with a scar on his forehead.
Gynt has to try and find the real killer before Williams is convicted in a seemingly clear case.In some ways this movie is nothing special, the story (based on a play) is good but not too surprising.
The acting is also solid throughout with the gorgeous Gyn ('Dear Murderer') standing out with a nuanced and great performance.
First time director, and former cinematographer, Ronald Neame ('The Poseidon Adventure') plays with the narrative structure by using prosecutor Francis L.
Sullivan ('Night And The City') to tell the story in voice over, as he presents his case to the court.
As Sullivan reconstructs the murder, using Williams as the killer, the murder is shown, but with the real killer who does resemble Williams, disorienting the viewer.
It's a small but clever trick that works, and even brings Hitchcock to mind (as do other scenes, especially in the way tension and suspense is created).
He is also helped tremendously by the excellent cinematography of Guy Green ('Great Expectations', future director of 'Portrait Of Alison', another great Britnoir).
Neame and Green manage to turn a good movie into a great and stylish Britnoir/thriller, I was highly impressed by the visual and narrative language they used.
Enjoyable 1940s British Suspense.
I love this period of British films where everyone is relentlessly middle class, even the children who say expressions such as "super" & "wizard" and the women all speak with Celia Johnson like cut glass accents.Indeed I read today (Daily Mail 9/10/14) that this is the accent that the British most trust.Well to this 1947 film.For me Marius Goring was the stand out actor playing the headmaster Sidney Fleming.Another of his menacing roles was in "Highly Dangerous"(1950) as a Balkan police inspector with Margaret Lockwood.Francis L.
Sullivan was in his element yet again playing a criminal prosecuting barrister (see him in "Great Expectations" (1946).Sharp eyed viewers may have noticed the uncredited performances of Maurice Denham playing defending counsel and a newsboy at York station played by the future Billy Bunter- (Gerald Campion) on children's 1950s BBC TV.In 1947 all middle class people dressed up to visit the opera/concert/theatre with women in long evening gowns/jewels and the men smartly dressed in dinner suits with bow ties.One of the audience members actually used that theatrical cliché " Darling you were fabulous!" after listening to Greta Gynt (Philippa Shelley) miming to an operatic aria dubbed on by a professional singer.I will say though as an artist that this actress had lovely cheekbones.Huw Williams (father of Simon Williams) in the male lead as the innocent man charged with the strangulation, I always find just adequate.Sorry to damn him with faint praise.Ronald Adam, who often pops up in 1940s films, such as "Green for Danger", played the supposedly deaf detective who became the vital witness Philippa Shelley needed to save her husband.It certainly kept my interest to the end being well scripted and I rated it 7/10..
Made in that wartime and post-war black and white era when British movies at least looked good, employed fine character actors and dressed the cast glamorously.
Greta Gynt may not be the world's greatest actress but she makes the most of her deadpan, slightly skewed beauty and nasal, refined voice.
(Was English her first language?)She convinces least as the star of a ghastly modern opera (music by William Alwyn) in this tale of a man wrongly accused of murder.There's not much suspense.
Neame's camera work found fresh ways to do clichéd scenes.
I don't find Neame's work here a ripoff of Hitch's genre, but rather an homage to the great director.Like Sir Alfred, Neame has the wrong man accused of murder.
In fact, male lead Hugh Williams is quite ineffectual at any sort of defense, since the movie opens with him on trial for murder and quickly found guilty.
That the fine British character actor Francis L.
Sullivan is given such a short role as prosecuting attorney is fine with me.
He is cleverly used to state his case against the defendant, leading into flashbacks of the drama as it really happened.This leaves the lovely Greta Gynt to portray opera star and first class detective.
It's up to Ms. Gynt to sort out the clues that lead to the real killer.The train sequences definitely reminded me of Hitchcock's 'The Lady Vanishes', and there is a plot twist near the end which is quite delicious.I suggest that previous reviewers who found nothing interesting in this movie must have been half asleep during their viewing.
I was riveted by Neame's work with the camera, and it's definitely a movie worth a second look.
Williams as the male lead is fairly useless, a handsome man who could easily be taken as a ne'er do well living off his wife's successful operatic career.
So it is up to the strong performance of Gynt's character to drive the story to its compelling end.This movie has been described as 'film noir', but I see it as more of a 'thriller'.
And like the best of Hitchcock's suspense films, this one delivers..
If you are watching a mystery or suspense film, the most important element is the finale--the portion where you learn the truth.
Unfortunately, the picture falls apart a bit there...just a bit.When the film begins, a man's old girlfriend shows up years later.
Later, at home, the wife continues to pester him about the lady...good-naturedly at first.
But his troubles have only just begun, however, as the woman he was talking to at the beginning of the film is dead.
So, it's up to the wife to track down some leads...perhaps she can shed light on what really happened.
Unfortunately, she might also find the real murderer...and then what's she to do?!The film was very good and taut.
My only problem is that during the big confrontation scene on the train at the end, the woman NEVER yelled for help and knew her life was in danger.
Still, a snappy little film and one worth seeing.
****SPOILERS**** Based on the forgettable Winston Graham novel by the same name the movie has to do with the murder of violinist Elizabeth Rusman, Rosalie Cuuchley, who's body was found burned to a crisp to conceal her identity from the police by her murdered.
The man arrested for Rusman's murder just happened to be the husband of the opera singer Philippa Shelly, Greta Gynt, who was back up ,in playing the violin, in the Oprah that she was playing in Nick Talbot, Hugh Williams.
After Philippa accused Nick of making eyes at Rusman they later had a spat where she hit him over the head with a hair brush causing a deep gash in his skull.
Not being or willing to explain the injury to the police to avoid embarrassment and being in the present with Rusman just before she was found murdered Nick is arrested and made to stand trial for her death.We have Nick's wife Philippa now checking out all the clues to Rusman's murder that leads her to the private music school in the boondocks that it's suspected Rushman spend the year before as a music teacher.
With the principle of the school Sidney Flemming, Marius Goring, not that cooperative Philippa finds the missing photo-Of Rusman- of the year before graduation class that he hid from her.
That turned out the piece of evidence that can connect him not only with Rusman as man and wife but the reason behind her murder.***MAJOR SPOILERS**** With Rusman's killer's identity, as her husband Sidney Felmming, exposed he attempts to throw Philippa off a speeding train, on her way back to London, but he's interrupted briefly by this deft man looking for the bathroom or "John" to relive himself who "herd" his confession to Philippa about doing his unfaithful wife Rusman in.
It turns out that Flemming now seeing the writing on the wall jumped off the train to his death before the police could arrest him.
But it also had Philippa who was with him at the time of him jumping or being pushed off the speeding train in hot water by being arrested for his murder.
I agree with most of the other reviewers on how stylishly this film is acted and directed.
Near the opening, Hugh Williams' wife, Greta Gynt, in a fit of jealousy, throws an item from her dressing table at him and it glances off his forehead.
I stopped when I realized what the scene would look like to an outsider: A man in an apron hurling tin cups at someone in a tiger outfit wearing an immutable Mickey Mouse grin.
If I hadn't been disabled by laughter I would have tried strangling her, as Hugh Williams strangles the next woman, an ex lover, he has an encounter with.At least that's what he's accused of by Francis X.
All except one, which reveals the murderer to be a man we've never met.
Sullivan's hypothetical scenario is interrupted from time to time to show us the rounds of the real killer.
He has evidently been told never to blink.The victim, by the way, William's ex lover, is Rosalie Crutchley whose features and dark eyes are both striking and attractive.
She was the arid housekeeper in "The Haunting." Williams' wife, Greta Gynt, is horribly upset that her husband is in the Crowbar Hotel and they're dusting off the gallows for him.
She helps by following every possible link, and one of them improbably leads her to the murderer.
Near the beginning, when Crutchley writes a note to Williams, it's used as evidence against him in court.
it is known To be a lovely and a fearful thing." The trouble begins with Lord Byron, then, but it also ends with Williams and Gynt together again, as if they'd never been apart.
"I have great hopes that we shall love each other all our lives as much as if we had never married at all." A snappy and suspenseful thriller.