Dr. Morelle: The Case of the
Missing Heiress – 1949

A Hammer – Edward G, Whiting production released by Exclusive Films.
Ernest Dudleys famous character of “Monday Night at Eight”. Adapted from a play by Wilfred Burr.
Recorded by United Programmes

Black & White 73 minutes

Storyline

Heiress Cynthia Mason disappears in mysterious circumstances just as she is about to come into her inheritance and elope with her boyfriend, Peter Lorimer. Worried by her disappearance, her friend Miss Frayle, who is also assistant to amateur detective Doctor Morelle, takes it upon herself to investigate.
Masquerading as a housemaid, Miss Frayle travels to Cynthia’s remote West Country mansion home, where she encounters her friend’s intimidating, wheelchair-bound stepfather, Mr Kimber.
Miss Frayle soon finds herself out of her depth and, when Bensall, the butler, is murdered and she finds her own life to be in danger, she makes a desperate telephone call to her boss, Doctor Morelle, begging him for help…

Watch the full film on Vimeo

Crew


Function	Credited	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Productions
	Click a link for more info					Credited	Uncredited	Total
Ast. Director	Bob Jones					2		2
Camera Operator	Peter Bryan	29	28 Sep 1919	1 Sep 1972	52	22		22
Continuity	E. Chapman					1		1
Director	Godfrey Grayson	35	2 Aug 1913	1 Jun 1998	84	11		11
Director of Photog.	Cedric Williams	36	1 Jan 1913	1 Jan 1999	85	7		7
Editor	Ray Pitt					5	3	8
Make-up	Marjorie Green					1		1
Musical Director	Frank Spencer	38	19 Jun 1911	1 Feb 1975	63	21	1	22
Musical Director	Rupert Grayson					8		8
Producer	Anthony Hinds	26	18 Sep 1922	30 Sep 2013	91	84	1	85
Production Manager	Arthur Barnes	63	1 Jan 1886	1 Jan 1956	69	20		20
Screenplay	Roy Plomley	35	20 Jan 1914	28 May 1985	71	2		2
Screenplay	Ambrose Grayson					2		2
Sound Recordist	Edgar Vetter	36	27 Jan 1913	15 Dec 1988	75	15		15

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth		Death	Age	Hammer Productions
							Credited	Uncredited	Total
Bensall	Hugh Griffith	37	30 May 1912		14 May 1980	67	1		1
Cynthia Mason	Jean Lodge	21	4 Aug 1927	04.08.1927		95	3		3
Doctor Morelle	Valentine Dyall	42	7 May 1907		24 Jun 1985	78	3		3
Inspector	Sidney Vivian	48	18 Apr 1901		22 Dec 1984	83	3		3
Kimber	Philip Leaver	44	11 Jul 1904		1 Jan 1981	76	2		2
Miss Frayle	Julia Lang	28	1921		1 Apr 2010	89	1		1
Peter Lorimer	Peter Drury						1		1
With	John Sharp	28	5 Aug 1920		26 Nov 1992	72	5		5
Uncredited
With	James Raglan	48	6 Jun 1901		15 Nov 1961	60	3	1	4
With	Bruce Walker	43	4 Sep 1905		7 Mar 1967	61	1	1	2

Production


FILMING BEGAN	15 November 1948
UK RELEASE	27 June 1949
STUDIO	Dial Close Court, Winter Hill, Cookham, Berkshire

Footnotes

With his distinctive, deep, resonant voice, Valentine Dyall was often called on to play sinister roles, including those of Dr Fell in Hammer’s “Room to Let” (1949), long dead warlock Jethrow Keane in “The City of the Dead” (1960 with Christopher Lee), grim caretaker Dudley in Robert Wise’s “The Haunting” (1963) and, in later years, The Black Guardian in BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”.

Hugh Griffith, who plays the butler, Bensall, in this film, went on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1959 for his role as Sheikh Ilderim in the epic movie “Ben Hur”.