![]() ![]() On the whole, however, for accuracy of detail, comprehensiveness of treatment and a delicate and definite interpretation of Dickens the picture will rank, with "Dante's Inferno" and "Quo Vadis" as among the great and remarkable achievements of the moving picture act. This would have immensely strengthened the argument for the solution offered as well as greatly clarified the story. These are important incidents and could easily have been inserted by enlarging the opium dreams of Jasper to include the visit to the crypt with Durdles and the purloining of the keys, and by a couple of scenes emphasizing Durdles' avocation of stonemason and his meeting with Datchery as Dickens has done. An opium-addicted choirmaster develops an obsession for a beautiful young girl and will not stop short of murder in order to have her. With Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel, David Manners. Dickens devotes several chapters as to how Jasper learned about the tombs and the quicklime and obtained the keys of the crypt and also the relations between Dachery and Durdles. Mystery of Edwin Drood: Directed by Stuart Walker. The cathedral crypt scenes and the hiding of Drood's body are brought in at the end of the story as an absolute and rather jarring surprise. The other error is in the preparation for the solution of the mysterv. Not only has Dickens carefully described the old-fashioned four-post bedstead that was in the joint, but the modern iron bed was unknown at the time in which Dickens laid his story. The modern enameled iron bedstead that stares us in the face in the opium joint had no business to lie there and detracts seriously from the enjoyment of an otherwise magnificently produced scene. There are but two serious faults in the picture, one editorial, the other due to carelessness in production. On the other hand, the main mystery theme is so clearly and interestingly dealt with and the acting so nearly perfect that the spectator is held enthralled from beginning to end. The story is clear and well told and follows closely in its earlier portions the line of development followed by Dickens, perhaps a little too closely in this last respect as those who have not read the fiction story may have a little difficulty at first in realizing the relationships of the characters. Terriss has now added his solution of the problem, and while, in order to bring about the "happy ending" he has adopted the less likely answer as to Drood's death or disappearance, he has added to the Dickens' literature an entirely novel and original reply to the query, "What became of John Jasper?"-an answer that in some ways is the most Dickensesque of all that have preceded it. As is well known, Dickens died before he had finished the story and since then minds big and little have been trying to solve the questions left unanswered by the author. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” underscores why the author’s work remains so vibrant in a project timed to the 200th anniversary of his birth, and why its appeal to a PBS audience is hardly a mystery.This five-reel picture, made bv Blache for the World Film Corporation, will be most heartily welcomed not only by lovers of Dickens, but by every photoplay fan as well. Although that principally applies to Rhys - who brings touches of the Phantom of the Opera to his carnal, musically pursued desires - it also includes an assortment of Dickensian characters, from the tippling caretaker (Ron Cook) to the officious lawyer (Alun Armstrong) advising Rosa regarding her options. When Edwin finally goes missing, the story takes the first of several turns, leaving several unlikely characters to play the sleuth role.Įven those not particularly taken with the story can get lost in the Gothic cathedral, moody cinematography (by Alan Almond) and fine performances. On top of that, a pair of mysterious orphaned twins arrive, Helena (Amber Rose Revah) and Neville (Sacha Dhawan), who hail from Ceylon and have an axe to grind against Edwin, or perhaps the Droods.ĭirected by Diarmud Lawrence from Hughes’ teleplay - only the latest in a series of stabs at resolving a story Dickens died in the middle of writing - the movie seeks to create a sense of dread by capturing Jasper’s opium-fueled hazes, which are shot in a surreal fashion that soon grows wearisome. The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a 1935 American melodrama film directed by Stuart Walker and based on the unfinished 1870 novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens. ![]() While Edwin is extremely fond of his uncle, the dark, brooding Jasper harbors a simmering desire for Rosa, which complicates his feelings toward the “bright boy,” as he calls him. ![]() Edwin has been engaged forever to the 17-year-old Rosa (“The Tudors’?” Tamzin Merchant), who isn’t so sure about going through with the marriage that her late father wanted. Rhys plays John Jasper, a choirmaster who is uncle to the title character, Edwin (Freddie Fox), an attractive and amiable if not particularly distinguished lad. ![]()
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