“I’d sooner live poor than die waiting to get rich.”
Robert Norman (Aubrey Mallalieu) has been shot. One minute he is in his study talking to his pet bird and the next he is on the floor dead. Henry Sanders (Ian Fleming) and Hubert Perrin (Reginald Tate), who are at the house rush in. The police are called. Inspector Philip Winton (Basil Sydney) and Sgt. ‘Mac” McKay (Alastair Sim) arrive at the River House estate.
Along with Sanders and Perrin, the housekeeper Mrs. Harris (Zoe Davis) is questioned. She says a woman had been to see Norman before he was killed but no one knows when she left. The young woman was Claire Haines (Judy Gunn). When Winton questions her he gets no further information but he finds out that Ms. Haines is a reporter and now she begins to dog him looking for a scoop. Sparks fly, in more ways than one.
Back at the Norman residence the inspector learns from Norman’s attorney, Dickenson (C. M. Hallard), of a pact that was made five years ago between Norman, Sanders, Perrin and two other men Alfred Jerome (Tom Helmore) and William Gregg (Martin Lewis). A financial venture went back and they men all lost all their money. They pooled what was left and agreed to pay out any gains in five year’s time. The five years was to be up in a few days. The intervening five years resulting in significant gains and each man would become rich at that time.
Sanders and Perrin are already on hand. Gregg and Jerome are expected. Gregg is the next to arrive. When Jerome appears he is visibly shaken saying someone shot at him. While he is in Norman’s study someone shoots him through the garden door.
The problem now is those that are in the pact are being killed one by one. Inspector Winton is running out of time. He needs to find the murderer before he runs out of suspects.
“The Riverside Murder” was released in 1935 and was directed by Albert Parker. It is a British crime/mystery. The movie is based on the novel by Belgian author Stanislas-André Steeman.
At about 64 minutes it is basically a quota quickie. Not a bad one, but I’ve seen better. The film started out a little slow but picked up rapidly as the body count grew. It’s not all that difficult to figure out who the killer is, and the story got better as it went along.
This was Alastair Sim’s first movie and I have to say he was the best one in it. He is sort of a comic relief but not to the point where he plays a total bumbling stooge. He’s more of an eccentric assistant with a slightly different view of logic. I know it’s a strange comment but I think it fits. Other than Sim, Zoe Davis is decent as the scatter brained housekeeper. Her character is a sweet grandmotherly type that was quite endearing.
The film is worth it just to see Sim and Davis.