The Case for the Crown

The Case for the Crown
Press kit
Directed byGeorge A. Cooper
Written bySherard Powell
Based onshort story An Error of Judgement by Anthony Gittins[1]
Produced byGeorge A. Cooper
StarringMiles Mander
Meriel Forbes
Whitmore Humphries
Production
company
Distributed byParamount British Pictures
Release date
  • 9 November 1934 (1934-11-09)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Case for the Crown is a 1934 British crime film directed by George A. Cooper and starring Miles Mander, Meriel Forbes and Whitmore Humphries.[2][3] It was written by Sherard Powell based on the short story ''An Error of Judgement'' by Anthony Gittins, and was made at British and Dominions Elstree Studios as a quota quickie for release by Paramount Pictures.[4]

Preservation status

The British Film Institute National Archive holds a collection of ephemera and stills but no film or video materials.[2]

Plot

Business tycoon James Rainsford is found by his junior partner, Roy Matherson, with his throat cut. Assuming it was suicide, and because he wishes to spare the feelings of Shirley, Rainsford's daughter, with whom he is love, Matherson fakes the scene to make it look like a murder. It turns out that it is actually murder, and Matherson is charged. In court, it looks like he will be convicted, until the defending counsel reveals the murderer to be another partner in the company.

Cast

Reception

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Opening leisurely, but tempo speeds up with arrival of courtroom episodes, which have definite dramatic strength. Early reels padded with crude and irrelevant cockney humour."[5]

Picture Show wrote: "Opening rather slowly, this murder mystery drama begins to gain suspense and interest when the trial scenes are reached. ... Acting honours go to Lawrence Anderson as counsel for the defence, and Gordon McLeod as counsel prosecuting."[6]

TV Guide called the film "another dull British courtroom drama."[7]

References

  1. ↑ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 "The Case for the Crown". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Case for the Crown (1934)". BFI. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Wood, Linda (1986). British Films, 1927–1939 (PDF). British Film Institute. p. 81. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "The Case for the Crown". The Daily Film Renter (2398): 4. 10 November 1934. ProQuest 3303350522.
  6. ↑ "The Case for the Crown". Picture Show. 33 (838): 22. 25 May 1935. ProQuest 1880300004.
  7. ↑ "The Case For The Crown". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
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