Blood Orange

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.

Production Details

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
Production Facilities kindly granted by Worth (London) Ltd
New Symphony Orchestra
Black & White 76 minutes

Filming dates: 16th March – 17th April 1953
UK Release: 23rd September 1953

Filming:
Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire – Studio
3 Cavendish Square, London – Pascal fashion house
British Council Building, 65 Davies Street, London – Saville Row police station

Stills from film

Click an image for enlarged slideshow

Cast & Crew

Cast – Complete, awaiting verification
Crew – Believed complete

CREW	NAME	CREDITED	AGE AT RELEASE	BIRTH	DEATH	AGE	CREDITS	UNCREDITED	TOTAL HAMMER
Art Director	J. Elder Wills	Yes	53	26 Apr 1900	1970	69	22		22
Assistant Director	Jimmy Sangster	Yes	25	2 Dec 1927	19 Aug 2011	83	66	2	68
Assistant Editor	Margaret Murison	No						1	1
Boom Operator	Percy Britten	No	34	1 Oct 1919	1996	76		23	23
Camera Operator	Len Harris	Yes	37	19 May 1916	21 Feb 1995	78	63	2	65
Clapper Loader	Tom Friswell	No	23	1930	2002	72		18	18
Continuity	Renee Glynne	Yes	27	3 Aug 1926	6 Apr 2022	95	41	3	44
Dialogue Director	Molly Terraine	Yes	65	4 Jul 1888	22 Dec 1963	75	1		1
Director	Terence Fisher	Yes	49	23 Feb 1904	18 Jun 1980	76	31		31
Director of Photography	Walter Harvey BSc	Yes	50	9 Feb 1903	1979	75	35	35	34
Editor	Maurice Rootes	Yes	36	12 Apr 1917	17 Jun 1997	80	8		8
Focus Puller	Harry Oakes	No	32	16 Jan 1921	11 Dec 2012	91	3	56	59
Fur Models	Molho	Yes					2		2
Hairdresser	Nina Broe	Yes			1993		11		11
Make-up	Phil Leakey	Yes	45	4 May 1908	26 Nov 1992	84	50		50
Musical Director	Ivor Slaney	Yes	32	27 May 1921	20 Mar 1998	76	11	1	12
Original Screenplay	Jan Read	Yes	35	18 Nov 1917	29 Nov 2012	95	1		1
Producer	Michael Carreras	Yes	25	21 Dec 1927	19 Apr 1994	66	98	11	109
Production Manager	Mickey Delamar	Yes	45	1908	1971	63	10	1	11
Second Assistant Dorector	Fred Stark	No						2	2
Second Camera Operator	John Read	No	32	14 Nov 1920	13 Apr 2006	85		1	1
Sound Camera Operator	Don Alton	No	39	1914	18 Jan 1987	73		9	9
Sound Library Editor	Arthur Cox	No					4	1	5
Sound Maintenance	J. Woodiwiss	No	44	14 Jun 1909	1987	77		6	6
Sound Recording	Bill Salter	Yes	49	1904	1987	83	17		17
Sound Recording	George Burgess	Yes	56	1897	Feb 1956	59	3		3
Special Gowns Created	Ben Pearson	Yes			1993		2		2
Still Photographer	John Jay	No	32	14 Nov 1920	29 Apr 2005	84	13	22	35
Thire Assistant Director	John Draper	No					2	1	3
Wardrobe Mistress	Molly Arbuthnot	Yes	44	19 Dec 1908	31 Oct 2001	92	48	5	53
CAST
Blonde	Christina Forrest	No	23	5 Feb 1930	1 Oct 1990	60	1	2	3
Captain Simpson	Andrew Osborn	Yes	43	9 Apr 1910	11 Mar 1985	74	4		4
Chauffeur	John H Watson	No	30	17 Jul 1923	24 Dec 2000	77	1	2	3
Chelsea	Delphi Lawrence	Yes	21	23 Mar 1932	11 Apr 2002	70	2	1	3
Commissionaire	Denis Cowles	No	64	12 Sep 1889	26 Aug 1970	80		1	1
Detective Sergeant	Thomas Heathcote	Yes	46	9 Sep 1907	5 Jan 1986	78	4		4
Eddie	Michael Ripper	Yes	40	27 Jan 1913	28 Jun 2000	87	34	2	36
Fashion Show Attendee	Jack Manderville	No	32	21 Aug 1921	2 May 1995	73		3	3
Fernande	Eileen Way	Yes	42	2 Sep 1911	16 Jun 1994	82	1		1
George	Davy Leon	No						1	1
Gina	Naomi Chance	Yes	26	18 Sep 1927	18 Mar 2003	75	4		4
Harry - Night Watchman	Leo Phillips	No	39	1 Feb 1914				3	3
Heath	Reed de Rouen	No	32	10 Jun 1921	11 Jun 1986	65	1	1	2
Helen Pascall	Mila Parely	Yes	36	7 Oct 1917	14 Jan 2012	94	1		1
Inspector	Alan Rolfe	Yes	45	5 Apr 1908	29 Dec 2005	97	1		1
Jane model with shoulder lenght hair	Ann Hanslip	Yes	19	25 Jan 1934	9 Jan 2013	78	2		2
Lady Marchant	Margaret Halstan	Yes	73	25 Dec 1879	8 Jan 1967	87	1		1
Macleod	Richard Wattis	Yes	41	25 Feb 1912	1 Feb 1975	62	6		6
Marlowe, Murderer-thief	Roger Delgado	No	35	1 Mar 1918	18 Jun 1973	55	4	1	5
Mercedes	Eric Pohlmann	Yes	40	18 Jul 1913	25 Jul 1979	66	7		7
Miss Betty	Betty Cooper	No	43	1 May 1910	3 Feb 1979	68	2	2	4
Nightclub Patron	John Lynn	No						3	3
Policeman	Ernie Priest	No						2	2
Seamstress	Dorothy Robson	No	44	12 Sep 1909	26 Dec 1994	85		1	1
Self - singer Pianist	Cab Kaye	No	32	3 Sep 1921	13 Mar 2000	78		1	1
Stevenson	Robert Moore	No						2	2
Tom Conway	Tom Conway	Yes	49	15 Sep 1904	22 Apr 1967	62	2		2
Vivian	Cleo Rose	No	37	1916	2004	88		3	3

Original Poster

Click to enlarge

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.

Hammer’s 4K Restoration Collectors Edition

4K Restoration Official Trailer