Wonderful Movie

Absolutely the worst movie.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

One of the teachers at Miss Halstead's boarding school is found murdered and Detective Inspector Campbell and Sergeant Harvey from Scotland Yard lead the investigation, Is the killer one of the teachers? Is it one of the pupils? Is it someone from outside the school? It's a fair mystery story that moves along steadily until the poignant ending. It portrays well the pettiness and pressure of a closed human environment.We get to know the teachers, particularly Miss Shepherd who helps a lot with the investigation. Not a fast moving film but a nice study of a certain place and time. It's well directed on a low budget. The scene of the finding of the body is very well handled.Gordon Jackson is solid as D.I Campbell and even better is the beauteous Barbara Murray as Miss Shepherd. There are sparks between those two characters that are entertaining. The rest of the cast are suitable for their roles. The motive for the murder is not a usual one which makes it more interesting. Strangely the ubiquitous Sam Kydd as Sergeant Harvey is uncredited by the film even though he has a large role.Stephen Clarkson only directed a few films which is a shame as he did a good job with this one.

This is the only feature directed by Stephen Clarkson. It's hard to see why, as he does a good job, and co-wrote the script with Maisie Sharman. I'm grateful to Renown and their Talking Pictures TV for the chance to see this rare film.A teacher at a south of England girls' school is murdered, and since she had a talent for angering her colleagues, there are plenty of suspects. The investigation is led by Inspector Campbell from Scotland Yard. He's a dour Scot with a chip on his shoulder (he'd definitely have voted for independence!) but fortunately he's played by Gordon Jackson, who's always a sympathetic presence. I saw him play a villain in another Renown offering, I think "The Delavine Affair," and he didn't ring true.One reviewer complained about the cut-glass accents, but given the date and milieu they're to be expected. The Queen still talks like that, and I agree it's irritating, but not as irritating as the inaudibility of so many modern American actors, which makes you wonder why their scriptwriters bothered writing dialogue."Death|" is unusual for a British B of the '50s is that there's some humour. When Campbell asks Miss Shepherd what book she's been reading she says "Death in Seven Hours", the book by Ms Sharman on which this film is based. She then needles the inspector by saying that an amateur sleuth solved the mystery. This gives the audience a clue, as later she solves the mystery before him, though to be fair that's because she'd seen something and not told him about it.All in all, an enjoyable way to spend 64 minutes.

....so says the poster - in other words, a murder is committed in an all girls school. With a title like "Death Goes to School" full marks to theatre owners, trying to get patrons into the cinemas. Before he was Hudson, the very devoted butler who "knew his place" in the TV series "Upstairs, Downstairs" Gordon Jackson was a familiar face in a score of British films. This movie gave him a rare lead and it is easy to see why (it was a rare lead). Well, he wasn't exactly "Mr. Personality" - he had no quirkiness of character that would make his Inspector Campbell memorable.A body is discovered behind the school playing fields - it is Miss Cooper, a teacher who has no friends at the school, in other words, everyone's a suspect!!! The only clue is a footprint of a size 5 shoe!! Dour Inspector Campbell from Scotland Yard is onto the case right away - and the teachers are onto him too - "he's so big and strong, so masterful" etc and they try to make an impression. As each Mistress is interviewed a picture is drawn of Miss Cooper and it is not pretty - she is hard to get along with, is forever picking fights with the other staff members and seems to have a dislike of children!!!One of the mistresses, Miss Shephard, seems to be the real detective of the movie and armed with inside knowledge from staff and students, has her own ideas about who is the murderer. Her investigations take her out of the school, away from the teachers and into the homes of the parents. Gordon Jackson gives his usual solid, "no frills" performance. Barbara Murray (Miss Shepherd) was a newcomer who went on to have a more productive career in television with shows such as "The Power Game" and "The Plane Makers".

All I can say, is this movie was taken from a book written by the author Stratford Davis - and it didn't do her justice. Yup, a little background. The male name Stratford Davis was actually the pen name of a female with the birth name Maisie Sharman who wrote several books under the male name just so she could be published during the thirties. She later penned several more books under the name Miriam Sharman (last name was real until she married a Bolton in Hampshire, and then went under the name Miriam Bolton for several screenplays for the BBC). The reason I know this trivia about a little known author is simply because she was my great-aunt on my maternal Grandfather's side. I have collected several of her books from her later periods (50's and 60's); and while they would never be on a par with Conan Doyle or P.D. James, I found them enjoyable for a short bout of escapism.