Strange Boarders
Encyclopedia
Strange Boarders is a 1938
British comedy thriller film, directed by Herbert Mason
for Gainsborough Pictures
and starring Tom Walls
, Renée Saint-Cyr
, Googie Withers
and Ronald Adam
. The film is an adaptation of the 1934 espionage novel The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent by E. Phillips Oppenheim
, and was well-received by critics. The Los Angeles Times
described it as "a long series of laughs as well as thrills".
The man for the job is top secret service agent Tommy Blythe (Walls), who happens to be on honeymoon with new wife Louise (Saint-Cyr). He is summoned back to London under conditions of absolute secrecy, not allowed to divulge any details even to Louise, who naturally does not believe his unconvincing cover story and jumps to the conclusion that he is having an affair.
Enquiries lead to the Notting Hill boarding house where the dead woman lived and Tommy takes a room there incognito to try to infiltrate what is assumed to be a nest of spies. Louise follows him to London and confronts him, and he is forced against orders to take her into his confidence. She also takes a room and the couple pretend not to know each other, giving their names as a Mr. Bullock and a Miss Heffer. Together they set about the task of observing and investigating the sundry assortment of fellow lodgers, knowing that some are completely innocent while others harbour dark and treacherous secrets which threaten the very nation. From the grasping landlady Mrs. Dewar (Irene Handl
) and the meek maid Elsie (Withers), through to fellow boarders including a blind man (Adam), a Boer War colonel and his wife apparently in retirement, a travelling salesman, a scatty old biddy and a merchant of Argentinian meat, all come under suspicion before the wily pair of sleuths manage to untangle the web of lies and false leads to reveal who in the household is or is not a traitor.
1938 in film
The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
British comedy thriller film, directed by Herbert Mason
Herbert Mason
-Director:* The First Offence * His Lordship * East Meets West * Take My Tip * Strange Boarders * The Silent Battle * A Window in London * Dr. O'Dowd...
for Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
and starring Tom Walls
Tom Walls
Tom Kirby Walls was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor, and film director. He has claim to be one of the most influential figures in British comedy.-Early career:...
, Renée Saint-Cyr
Renée Saint-Cyr
Renée Saint-Cyr was a French actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1933 and 1994.-Selected filmography:* Pearls of the Crown * Strange Boarders...
, Googie Withers
Googie Withers
Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
and Ronald Adam
Ronald Adam (actor)
Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
. The film is an adaptation of the 1934 espionage novel The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent by E. Phillips Oppenheim
E. Phillips Oppenheim
Edward Phillips Oppenheim , was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers.-Life:...
, and was well-received by critics. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described it as "a long series of laughs as well as thrills".
Plot
A seemingly innocuous and respectable elderly lady is knocked down and critically injured by a bus on a London street. When the police search her handbag to find out her identity, they are astonished to discover a series of top secret military blueprints. The secret service are alerted and arrive at the hospital to question her, but she laughs in their faces before quietly dying.The man for the job is top secret service agent Tommy Blythe (Walls), who happens to be on honeymoon with new wife Louise (Saint-Cyr). He is summoned back to London under conditions of absolute secrecy, not allowed to divulge any details even to Louise, who naturally does not believe his unconvincing cover story and jumps to the conclusion that he is having an affair.
Enquiries lead to the Notting Hill boarding house where the dead woman lived and Tommy takes a room there incognito to try to infiltrate what is assumed to be a nest of spies. Louise follows him to London and confronts him, and he is forced against orders to take her into his confidence. She also takes a room and the couple pretend not to know each other, giving their names as a Mr. Bullock and a Miss Heffer. Together they set about the task of observing and investigating the sundry assortment of fellow lodgers, knowing that some are completely innocent while others harbour dark and treacherous secrets which threaten the very nation. From the grasping landlady Mrs. Dewar (Irene Handl
Irene Handl
-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
) and the meek maid Elsie (Withers), through to fellow boarders including a blind man (Adam), a Boer War colonel and his wife apparently in retirement, a travelling salesman, a scatty old biddy and a merchant of Argentinian meat, all come under suspicion before the wily pair of sleuths manage to untangle the web of lies and false leads to reveal who in the household is or is not a traitor.
Cast
- Tom WallsTom WallsTom Kirby Walls was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor, and film director. He has claim to be one of the most influential figures in British comedy.-Early career:...
as Tommy Blythe - Renée Saint-CyrRenée Saint-CyrRenée Saint-Cyr was a French actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1933 and 1994.-Selected filmography:* Pearls of the Crown * Strange Boarders...
as Louise Blythe - Googie WithersGoogie WithersGeorgette Lizette "Googie" Withers CBE, AO was an English theatre, film and television actress. She was a longtime resident of Australia with her husband, the actor John McCallum, with whom she often appeared.-Biography:...
as Elsie - Ronald AdamRonald Adam (actor)Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
as Barstow - C.V. FranceC.V. FranceCharles V. France , usually credited as C. V. France, was a British actor.-Partial filmography:*The Blue Bird *The Skin Game *Black Coffee...
as Col. Lionel Anstruther - Nina BoucicaultNina BoucicaultNina Boucicault was an English actress born to playwright Dion Boucicault and his wife, actress Agnes Kelly Robertson. She had three brothers, Dion William , Dion Boucicault Jr. and Aubrey Boucicault...
as Mrs. Anstruther - Martita HuntMartita HuntMartita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...
as Miss Pitter - C. Denier WarrenC. Denier WarrenC. Denier Warren or Denier Warren was an American born actor who appeared extensively on stage and screen from the early 1930s to late 1960s, mostly in the United Kingdom....
as Fry
- Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
as Mrs. Dewar - Marda VanneMarda VanneMarda "Scrappy" Vanne was a South African actress who found fame in London. Born 27 September 1896 in South Africa to Sir Willem and Lady van Hulsteyn...
as Mrs. Greatorex - Leon M. Lion as Luke
- Arthur Goullet as Señor Torres
- George CurzonGeorge Curzon (actor)Commander Chambré George William Penn Curzon , known as George Curzon, was a Royal Navy Commander, actor, and father of the present Earl Howe....
as Sir Charles - Tyrell DavisTyrell Davis-Selected filmography:* His Glorious Night * Let Us Be Gay * Strictly Unconventional * The Magnificent Lie * The Road to Singapore * Temptation's Workshop * Our Betters...
as Hayes - Brian Powley as George Gateshead
External links
- Strange Boarders at BFI Film & TV Database
- Strange Boarders at BritMovie