She Shall Have Murder
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = She Shall Have Murder
| image = "She_Shall_Have_Murder"_(1950).jpg
| alt =
| caption = British 1-sheet poster
| director = Daniel Birt
| producer = {{ubl|Guido Coen|Derrick De Marney}}
| writer = Allan MacKinnon
| based_on = a novel by Delano Ames
| narrator =
| starring = {{ubl|Rosamund John|Derrick De Marney}}
| music = Eric Spear
| cinematography = Robert Navarro
| editing = Stefan Osiecki
| studio = {{ubl|Derrick De Marney Productions (as Concanen)|British Lion Films (in association with)}}
| distributor = Independent Film Distributors
| released = {{Film date|1950|12}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
She Shall Have Murder is a 1950 British drama film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Rosamund John, Derrick De Marney and Felix Aylmer.{{Cite web |title=She Shall Have Murder |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150056597 |access-date=26 April 2025 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/50414|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113212643/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/50414|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2009|title=She Shall Have Murder|accessdate=7 July 2015}} It was written by Allan MacKinnon based on the 1949 novel of the same title by Delano Ames. The screenplay concerns a law office clerk who becomes a detective. It was co-financed by the Woolf brothers.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1950-08-23_178_11/page/16/mode/1up?|title=1st six Romulus pix finished or in work|page=16|date=23 August 1950}}
Premise
Cast
- Rosamund John as Jane Hamish
- Derrick De Marney as Dagobert Brown
- Mary Jerrold as Mrs. Robjohn
- Felix Aylmer as Mr. Playfair
- Joyce Heron as Rosemary Proctor
- Jack Allen as Major Stewart
- Henryetta Edwards as Sarah Swinburne
- Harry Fowler as Albert Oates
- John Bentley as Douglas Robjohn
- Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Hawthorne
- June Elvin as Barbara Jennings
- Jack McNaughton as bBarman
- Olaf Pooley as Mr. White
- Dennis Val Norton as pub landlord
- Francis de Wolff as Police Inspector
- Jonathan Field as darts player
- Jimmy Rhodes as racing man
- Tony Hilton as steward
- Frances Leak as shooting gallery attendant
- Wanda Rands as change girl
- Duncan Lamont as Police Sergeant
Reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The tone of the film is one of determined and occasionally forced gaiety, which the action is too slow to sustain; the mystery, however, holds a certain amount of interest to the end, although none of the characters are sufficiently developed (particularly the murderer) for their motives to assume much plausibility."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1950 |title=She Shall Have Murder |volume=17 |issue=193 |pages=190 |id={{ProQuest|1305818848}} |magazine=The Monthly Film Bulletin}}
Picture Show wrote: "Acting honours go to Harry Fowler for his smooth, humorously horrifying characterisation as an office boy with a flourishing 'spiv' sideline. Rosamund John and Derrick de Marney give most attractive portrayals and are excellently supported."{{Cite journal |date=23 December 1950 |title=She Shall Have Murder |volume=55 |issue=1447 |pages=10 |id={{ProQuest|1879616754}} |magazine=Picture Show}}
Picturegoer wrote: "Another British film which doesn't come off – despite some very gallant acting by its stars. The cause of the trouble is a jumbled script – it is shockingly naive at times – which contains too many miraculous coincidences."{{Cite journal |date=5 December 1950 |title=She Shall Have Murder |volume=20 |issue= |pages=18 |id={{ProQuest|1771212990}} |magazine=Picturegoer}}
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Slow unconvincingly acted film has most of the faults typical of second-rate British thrillers of the time"{{Cite book |last=Quinlan |first=David |title=British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 |publisher=B.T. Batsford Ltd. |year=1984 |isbn=0-7134-1874-5 |location=London |pages=373}}