Blood Orange – 1953

Alternative title: Three Stops to Murder

A Hammer production released by Exclusive Films (UK) and Astor (USA)
Copyright 1953 by Exclusive Films Ltd.

All characters in this photoplay are fictitious and bear no resemblance to any real person, living or dead

RCA Sound System
Produced at Exclusive Studios, Bray
Production Facilities kindly granted by Worth (London) Ltd
Black & White 76 minutes

Storyline

Private Detective Tom Conway is hired by jeweller Mercedes to investigate the theft of jewels from a London fashion house. But things take a sinister turn when two women, model Chelsea and the elderly Lady Marchant, are murdered, both while wearing a newly designed dress called “Blood Orange”. Conway suspects there must be a connection linking the crimes.

Crew


Function	Credited	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Credits
Art Director	J. Elder Wills	52	26 Apr 1900	1970	69	22
Assistant Director	Jimmy Sangster	25	2 Dec 1927	19 Aug 2011	83	65
Camera Operator	Len Harris	36	19 May 1916	21 Feb 1995	78	52
Continuity	Renee Glynne	26	3 Aug 1926	6 Apr 2022	95	38
Dialogue Director	Molly Terraine	64	4 Jul 1888	22 Dec 1963	75	1
Directed by	Terence Fisher	48	23 Feb 1904	18 Jun 1980	76	31
Director of Photography	Walter Harvey Bsc	49	9 Feb 1903	1979	75	34
Editor	Maurice Rootes	35	12 Apr 1917	17 Jun 1997	80	7
Fur Models by	Molho					2
Hairdresser	Nina Broe			1993		10
Make-up	Phil Leakey	44	4 May 1908	26 Nov 1992	84	48
Musical Director	Ivor Slaney	31	27 May 1921	20 Mar 1998	76	2
Original Screenplay by	Jan Read	35	18 Nov 1917	29 Nov 2012	95	11
Played by	The New Symphony Orchestra					1
Produced by	Michael Carreras	25	21 Dec 1927	19 Apr 1994	66	82
Production Facilities kindly granted by	Worth (London) Ltd					1
Production Manager	Mickey Delamar	45	1908	1971	63	7
Sound Recording	Bill Salter			1983		17
Sound Recording	George Burgess	56	1897	1 Feb 1956	59	3
Special Gowns Created by	Ben Pearson					2
Wardrobe Mistress	Molly Arbuthnot	44	19 Dec 1908	31 Oct 2001	92	48

Cast


Character	Actor	Age at Release	Birth	Death	Age	Hammer Appearances
Captain Simpson	Andrew Osborn	42	9 Apr 1910	11 Mar 1985	74	3
Chelsea	Delphi Lawrence	20	23 Mar 1932	11 Apr 2002	70	3
Detective Sergeant	Thomas Heathcote	45	9 Sep 1907	5 Jan 1986	78	4
Eddie	Michael Ripper	39	27 Jan 1913	28 Jun 2000	87	34
Fernande	Eileen Way	41	2 Sep 1911	16 Jun 1994	82	1
Gina	Naomi Chance	25	18 Sep 1927	18 Mar 2003	75	4
Helen Pascall	Mila Parely	35	7 Oct 1917	14 Jan 2012	94	1
Lady Marchant	Margaret Halstan	73	25 Dec 1879	8 Jan 1967	87	1
Macleod	Richard Wattis	40	25 Feb 1912	1 Feb 1975	62	6
Mercedes	Eric Pohlmann	39	18 Jul 1913	25 Jul 1979	66	7
Tom Conway	Tom Conway	48	15 Sep 1904	22 Apr 1967	62	2

Production


FILMING BEGAN	1 February 1953
UK RELEASE	3 November 1953
STUDIO	Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England

Footnotes

For some reason, Tom Conway, who was the brother of fellow actor George Sanders, plays a character in this film called – Tom Conway! This was his only appearance for Hammer, although he later narrated the featurette “Copenhagen” (1956) for them. In the 1940’s he acted in horror films for RKO producer Val Lewton, such as “Cat People” (1942), “I Walked with a Zombie” and “The Seventh Victim” (both 1943), as well as playing the detective character ‘The Falcon’, a part he inherited from his brother, in a series of second features also for RKO. In 1956, he appeared in the Grade-Z American International schlock horror movies, “Voodoo Woman” and “The She-Creature”.

Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection