Black Orchid (1953) User Reviews

A great little film

[MuggySphere · 6/10 · 17 February 2007]

This one comes on the ABC often, and almost every time it does I manage to catch it either watching it or setting tape to record it. It's a great little film. Just sits around the hour mark but for that hour you have a lot of stuff packed in.

The leads were believable despite the short run time and I liked the whole mystery aspect of it. I found that enjoyable despite the fact I've seen the film like a gazillion time in repeats and it's one of those little gems, that if you blink you will miss so to speak.

Again I'd recommend this movie to anyone looking for a nice mystery to watch.

6/10 from me.

A smart seductive wife and girl-next-door lab assistant--and he goes for the assistant

[secondtake · 6/10 · 28 December 2010]

Black Orchid (1953)

A smart, crisp, and very British kind of drama with a touch of murder thrown in. It has a flavor of a classic whodunit, but it's never quite seen from the point of view of someone who has to solve the crime. Rather, we are wrapped up in this upper class world (at one point a woman says, as an apology, that she has just one gardener), and the crossed loves of two or three or maybe four of the characters becomes the meat of it. It is a deceptively noir titled movie, directed by British workaday director Charles Saunders, but it's not a noir one bit.

For movie buffs there is the wonderful Leslie Howard's son, Ronald, who has an amazing resemblance (and something less of a presence) on the screen. Ronald Howard had a middling career, and many less than stellar performances on stage, and then screen, and then lots of telly, including a series of 39 episodes as Sherlock Holmes.

More impressive by far is his wife, played by Mary Laura Wood, an even lesser known actress of mostly 50s era dramas and some t.v. Here she is sharp and alive, so taut you are never sure what she's about to do or say next. And she was in almost nothing else you can get your hands on, so enjoy her for what she's worth. There are several good secondary performances, as well, and indeed, if anything lifts this movie up a bit, it's the committed, convincing acting all around.

And the clever, if formulaic, plot.

More like a TV mystery than a feature film

[LCShackley · 5/10 · 29 November 2010]

This short, engaging mystery has more in common with television episodes than it does with full-fledged, intricate movie mysteries. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, so we can dispense with character development and move the plot along. There are a couple of red herrings along the way before the true killer is revealed at the end.

It's the usual made-for-TV plot: man is torn between shrewish, manipulative wife and her cute, kindly sister. Wife is killed, husband is blamed; sister and best friend must find the killer because the police won't look beyond the most obvious evidence.

Interesting trivia note: the "best friend" is an author named Eric Blair. Was this name chosen as a joke? "Eric Blair" was the real name of the author we know as George Orwell.

formula film from England

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 27 April 2013]

Ronald Howard stars in "Black Orchid," also starring Olga Edwards, Mary Laura Wood, and Sheila Burrell. Howard is a successful doctor in an unhappy marriage who wants to divorce his wife and marry her sister. Under British law, this is not possible unless his wife happens to be dead. You can guess the rest.

Howard at some angles and certainly in his mannerisms resembles his famous father. He gives a smooth performance, but one not particularly filled with emotion. The meatier roles go to Sheila Burrell as his wife's loyal maid, and Mary Laura Wood as the cold wife.

This is one of those short British cheapies, which I happen to like for some reason. They're always very familiar, and it's like sitting down with an old friend. And I did want to see Ronald Howard, best known for his Sherlock Holmes.

These movies, and there are hundreds of them, are all of a piece. If you've seen one, you've seen all of them.

Quick UK tale of Murder

[gordonl56 · 7/10 · 22 June 2015]

BLACK ORCHID 1953

A fast moving murder mystery played out like a 1930's whodunit. The film stars Leslie Howard's son, Ronald. Ronald Howard is a top end medical type married to, Mary Laura Wood. Wood is not amused with how Howard seems more interested in his work than him. Wood is stepping out with other "gentlemen" behind Howard's back.

Olga Edwardes is now introduced to the plot. Miss Edwardes is the younger sister of Wood. Edwardes is also a medical type and she and Howard strike it off. Howard tells Edwardes that he had asked his wife, Wood, for a divorce but the cow refused.

Also in the mix is Wood's maid, Sheila Burrell, novelist, John Bentley and his publisher, Patrick Barr. Howard and Edwardes are in love and wish to marry. The only thing in their way is Wood. Wood suddenly decides she is moving home to South Africa. She is also willing to grant Howard a divorce. She thinks this is most humorous. Wood tells Howard that there is a UK law that forbids a man to marry the sister of his ex.

Next thing you know, Miss Wood is creamed by a handy passing truck and killed. Now Edwardes and Howard are free to wed. That is till the coroner says Wood had been poisoned before the truck got her. Needless to say who is at the top of the suspect's list. Wood's maid, Sheila Burrell, never liked Howard and put a bee in the Police's bonnet about him as a suspect. The Police gobble up Howard when they find that the poison used, is the same substance Howard is experimenting with.

Miss Edwardes, along with Howard's pal, writer, John Bentley, do a bit of detective work of their own. They turn up evidence of Wood's affair with another man. And what a surprise they get when they discover that the man is Bentley's own publisher, Patrick Barr. (This is pushing it a bit story wise)

Barr is not happy with being outed and now tries to eliminate Edwardes and Bentley. A spot of sabotage on the brakes of Bentley's car damn near works when Bentley and Edwardes crash. Bentley is hauled in for a bit of repair work at the emergency ward.

Edwardes, silly girl that she is, tries to tackle Barr by herself. She ends up at the wrong end of a choking and is only saved by maid Burrell arriving with a pistol. (Another stretch, story wise) Howard is now released from jail and into Edwardes' arms. The Black Orchid of the title is how Barr had poisoned Miss Woods. He had covered the flowers he sent Woods with poison.

The film moves right along and at only 58 minutes, it does not over stay its welcome.

The director was Charles Sanders. Sanders made quite a few mystery, crime and noir during his 30 plus years directing. These include, DEATH OF AN ANGEL, A TIME TO KILL, THE NARROWING CIRCLE, NAKED FURY, JUNGLE STREET and KILL HER GENTLY

A dandy little murder mystery

[Paularoc · 7/10 · 20 March 2013]

John Wittington is a dedicated physician married to a beautiful but unhappy woman, Sophie. She endlessly complains and snipes at him - for not showing up to a dinner party, for ignoring her and so forth. Clearly all of our sympathy is meant to be for the good doctor but the disgruntled, self- centered Sophie does have a point. He tells her that she knew from the beginning of their marriage that his work was the most important thing in his life. Here are two people who never should have married. Then enters Sophie's sister, Christine. She takes a great interest in his work and clearly admires him. In about two minutes they fall in love. Sophie agrees to a divorce. As she's leaving their house she, with a wicked grin, tells her now ex- husband that he will never be able to marry Christine because it is illegal for a man to marry his ex- wife's sister. Which he finds out to be true (was this really so back then?). Of course, if the ex- wife is dead, this problem goes away. Well, she does end up dead and the doctor is arrested and convicted of her murder. Fortunately, Christine and the doctor's good friend Eric don't believe he did it and investigate on their own. The movie is well paced and entertaining. It was nice seeing Ronald Howard as the doctor; I had only previously seen him in the Sherlock Homes television series. The entire cast was very good but special kudos go to the actress playing Sophie. Recommended as an enjoyable way to spend an hour.

Spotted two Characters from "A Night to Remember" (1958)

[howardmorley · 6/10 · 27 November 2014]

Yes they were Russell Napier as Capt. Stanley Lord and Tucker McGuire as The Unsinkable Molly Brown the latter credited in "Black Orchid"(1953) as "American Woman" in the travel agency - (blink and you will miss her).And to clear up an above user who commented that at one point a woman apologized she "had only one gardener", well it was the wife of the publisher of "Eric Blair" literary joke ha ha, played by Patrick Barr.The latter being miscast as he normally played professional honest roles like "Mutt" Summers in "The Dam Busters" (1955).

Whenever a character has his car tampered with by the murderer sawing through brake pipes in a downhill ride, I find myself screaming at the screen "Turn off the ignition and change down gears and use the side of the road to brake your speed".I accept compulsory safety belts were some time off into the future.Another annoying trait occurred when a complete stranger (nice Christine) knocks at the door and a maid lets her in unmonitored even saying she will be going off duty leaving the house apparently unoccupied.Another stupid mistake in films occurs when the murderer insists on acknowledging his crime and explaining his motive unbidden to a stranger.

I suspected the maid Annette had lesbian leanings for Sophie her boss, the estranged wife of Dr.John Winnington (Ronald Howard) but of course film producers could not deal with same sex love on screen in 1953.Anyway it kept my attention for an hour so I awarded it 6/10.

Plot's key = a man cannot marry his wife's sister while wife still alive

[filmalamosa · 5/10 · 28 October 2012]

Dedicated research doctor has unhappy selfish wife. Sister of wife comes to visit and her and doctor were fated for each other. Wife gets divorce --and the plot's key is revealed : there is a law where a man cannot marry a wife's sister while wife still alive.

Wife is poisoned husband accused and condemned to death. Sister and husband's friend solve the murder.

Mind you all this happens in less than an hour so the action is fast.

The wife is far prettier than the sister thus seems somewhat miscast. You find yourself wanting to see more of her and less of the sister.

One reviewer called it a quota film....sounds reasonable. Grade B on the Hollywood scale...maybe even a C.

Still OK, if you are bored with little time.

RECOMMEND

"Mrs. Winnington Had A Great Many Admirers!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 13 July 2021]

Dr. John Winnington (Ronald Howard) works hard and late. His wife, Sophie (Mary Laura Wood), only cares about herself.

Enter Sophie's sister, Christine (Olga Edwardes), who becomes John's new assistant. Unlike Sophie, Christine is loving and kind. Soon, she and John become quite close. Sophie files for divorce, but due to the law, no man can marry his ex-wife's sister while the ex-wife is alive.

See if you can guess what happens next.

BLACK ORCHID is a great little British crime drama / mystery. Though John and Christine are rather soppy, this is more than compensated for by the sheer wickedness of Sophie! In addition, there's her creepy, conniving maid, Annette (Sheila Burrell), who could even give REBECCA's Mrs. Danvers the shivers!

Highly entertaining, and at an hour in length, it moves right along...

British mystery. Did the doctor really do it?

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 10 June 2015]

BLACK ORCHID is a quickie of a British mystery running almost an hour. Well paced with fine acting. Dr. John Winnington(Ronald Howard)seems very trapped in a loveless marriage. His wife(Mary Laura Wood)feels he is more interested in dinner parties than his duties at the hospital. And he seems to ignore and neglect his wife with no shame. Mrs. Winnington's younger sister Christine(Olga Edwardes)comes into the picture and flirtation and lust commences. The doc's wife is wise to the attraction and has enough; she leaves him with a sly warning that British law will not let him marry her sister...that is as long as she is alive. Guess what? Winnington will soon become the prime suspect in his wife's tragic murder. Christine and John's best friend Eric(John Bentley)will set out to clear his name.

This Black & White film is short and sustainable. The best acting comes from Wood. Other players: Sheila Burrell, Russell Napier, Patrick Barr and Mary Jones.

Tiresome People

[boblipton · 5/10 · 1 December 2019]

Research doctor Ronald Howard and his wife, Mary Laura Wood, are not getting along. Her sister, Olga Edwardes has his affection and Miss Wood bitterly accedes to a divorce... noting, when all is done, that the law prevents them from marrying while she lives. She is pretty shaky, so he gives her a draft of medicine, and she exits.... to stumble in front of a lorry that can't stop.

Now Howard and Miss Edwardes can marry, but a coroner's jury returns a finding of murder, and Howard's research with nicotine fits him for the noose by an uncaring police. Can Miss Edwardes and second lead John Bentley find out whodunnit before they use the gallows?

Charles Saunders directs this second feature in a manner that suggests Hitchcock's REBECCA, without a sense of humor, as the players stiff-upper-lip their ways through disasters of their own making. Worse, in many ways, the solution to the entire mystery element of the movie is presented in an obvious and clumsy manner, leading to a conclusion in which the real murderer is thwarted by the Mrs. Danvers character. Despite these rather stupid and tiresome characters, it's always watchable, but never particularly compelling.

Rather good film

[filmfan86 · 10/10 · 14 August 2004]

I caught this film late one night on the ABC and was pleasantly surprised to find Ronald Howard - best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the 1954 television series - playing the main character Dr.John Winnington, a kind hearted doctor who has the misfortune to stuck in a loveless marriage to a selfish woman, more interested in dinner parties than his work in curing disease.

I thought Black Orchid was a rather good film, short and sweet (running a little less than one hour). A neat little murder mystery in a who-dunnit structure. The audience is able to participate in attempting to pick who the "real" killer is, following Christine and John's friend Eric as they desperately try to clear Winnington's name and find her sister's "real" murderer, whoever that may be...

4 out of 5 stars.

A delightful calculating soap opera.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 8 July 2022]

No sympathy for the venomous wife but plenty of praise for Mary Laura Wood who plays her like a witch in a Grimm's Fairy Tale. Determined to divorce her husband, doctor Ronald Howard, she's waiting until she has cause and that manages to happen when her own sister Olga Edwardes arrives, and she looks on with glee as husband and sister slowly fall in love. Well not so slowly as the film itself is under an hour, and it's not so surprising when the wife ends up dead. The only issue I had with her being murdered was I wouldn't get to see her delicious nastiness on the screen again during that hour, and so while I applauded her characters death, I also applauded her performance.

The film itself is just your average melodrama, but the script writers get a good job in an hour of creating a mesmerizing story. Sheila Burrell is chilly as the far too serious maid, and John Bentley officious as the detective on the case. The fact that they are able to create an interesting plot, let you get to know the important characters and make you feel like you've gotten all the information you need to know makes this British second feature quite enjoyable. It's also fun to try to out guess the writers which makes this quota quickie quite successful.

Feeble Quota Quickie

[JohnHowardReid · 1/10 · 12 July 2009]

Marvelous isn't it how some bad old movies simply refuse to lie down and die? "Black Orchid" is a British quota quickie that will not surrender. Maybe because it has such a short running time, plus an intriguing title, plus Ronald Howard (whose Sherlock Holmes has a following), it has been a favorite on my local TV station. Hardly a year went by without two or three airings. And it was still running strong in 2006. By some miracle, the rights presumably then expired because it hasn't surfaced since. It's a thoroughly boring movie with absolutely nothing to offer. With the exceptions of Sheila Burrell's fawningly vicious Annette and Mary Laura Wood's preening socialite, the players are a lackluster lot. John Bentley is especially glum and even ever-reliable Russell Napier seems to be playing at half-steam.

I blame it all on Sir Walter Raleigh

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 20 July 2021]

A devoted doctor gets little in the way of support from his vain and worldly wife. Marital harmony is not improved by the presence of the wife's creepy maid, who goes around complimenting her employer on her success with male admirers. A newcomer arrives in the household : a young sister-in-law, eager to work as a medical assistant...

"Black Orchid" is a modest and low-key little thriller in a typically British vein. Thanks to its clever premise and plot it works quite well, although it might have benefitted from an extra potential suspect or an extra plot twist. Still, there's a lot to be said for a movie that tells a neatly concise story and then stops - o blessed times, when padding was used only in order to package china...

The intrigue revolves around a poisoning. You'll notice how the murderer keeps tins of the poison on his/her own shelves (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here...). I'm not sure that's a mistake many murderers of reasonable intelligence would make.

Now here's a subject fit for the pub quiz treatment : which movies bear titles like "Black Orchid", "Scarlet Lily", "Blue Rose" and the like ? There must be a whole array of them.

A British quickie that should have been better.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 31 January 2014]

This is a B-movie from the UK. Like a typical B, it clocks in at about an hour and has a breezy pace from start to finish. The story idea's pretty good but some sloppy writing here and there prevent this from being better.

Dr.John Winnington (Ronald Howard) is a doctor married to a horrible woman. Sophie Winnington (Mary Laura Wood) is very demanding and selfish and doesn't do well being at home when her husband sees his patients. So, she runs around on him and goes to parties--and has a very, very strained relationship with her husband. Sophie's sister, Christine (Olga Edwardes), comes to live with them. She also starts working for John on his research. Soon Sophie announces that John is boring and she wants a divorce--something John has been begging her for years. Later, when Sophie comes back to get her things after the divorce, she announces she's leaving with another man AND if John and Christine want to marry because apparently the law says you cannot marry your sister-in-law if your wife is still alive. This is an obviously telegraphed plot point--and soon the wife is dead. The police assume the husband did it in order to marry Christine--but Christine and her friend decide to investigate the case for themselves.

Quite a bit of the film makes little sense and shows shoddy writing--like the script was hurriedly slapped together. When the pair are investigating the crime, then man they think is responsible for the murder leaves them alone with his wife for a while. Then, as they leave, he recommends they go back to London by a shortcut--down a bit hill. IMMEDIATELY, I thought 'he's cut the brakes--don't go that way'. Did this occur to these two characters? Nope. Later, after this car crashes, the man is shaken up and taken to the hospital. What does the woman do? Yup, she goes back to investigate the man's house...ALONE. And, when the guy wakes up and calls for the nurse to bring the police, he tells the copper that Christine is in danger and might be killed and he tells them who the murderer is. The policeman and the nurse AND the people at the local police station announce that he is crazy and refuse to investigate!!! I would sure as h#&& think that if a person woke up after an accident that MIGHT have been caused by sabotage AND the person says a murder is about to be committed, I would have reacted!!! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy--and a bit of common sense would have make the film better.

Nicotine Patch

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 18 March 2017]

***SPOILERS*** British Murder mystery where the murder weapon is of all things a rare black orchid that kills without leaving a trace but the smell of nicotine on it's victim. The victim of this fatal flower is the vindictive Sophie Winnington, Mary Laura Wood, who after catching her doctor husband Dr. John, Roland "Son of Leslie" Howard, making eyes on her kid sister Christine Shaw,Olga Edwards,who came to visit her from far off South Africa. Unable to wed Christine because of a British law that forbids a man, that's Dr. John, to marry his wife's sister unless she dies. And that's exactly what happens as Sophie suddenly drops dead on her way to her lawyer's office to file divorce papers against John that will have him leave one third of his money and property to her.

With the police arresting Dr. John as the #1 suspect in his wife's murder the poor schmuck makes no attempt to defend himself in him feeling that he's a born loser and more then willing to meet his fate, the gallows, that's until both Christine and her friend Eric Blair, John Bentley, comes to his rescue. The fact that Dr. John was resigned to his sorry fate didn't discourage both Christine and Eric from going out to bat and all tilt to help him and save his life.

***SPOILERS***It soon became evident that it was a deadly black orchid that did Sophie in and even more shocking the person who used the flower to do his dirty work was one of her many lovers whom like her husband Dr. John she treated like dirt. Caught by Christine with his pants down in his private green house the killer lost his cool and went all out to strangle her to death only to have Eric and the local police break through the glass before he could finish his job. It was Sophie's killer's love of flowers that gave him away that left a valuable clue, a whiff of the black orchid's nicotine,to his true identity.

Murder mystery

[calvertfan · 8/10 · 19 February 2002]

John and Sophie Winnington are trapped in a loveless marriage. He is a doctor and she feels he neglects her for his patients, yet won't give him a divorce. In comes Sophie's younger sister, Chris, who immediately clicks with John and, all in the space of a few minutes of screen time, Sophie has found out about their affair, given John a divorce, and left with the revelation that he may be free of her now, but the law prevents him from marrying Chris as she is his ex-wife's sister. He checks this out and finds it is so, and the only way he could marry Chris legally is if Sophie were dead...

The deadliest poison is love unrequited

[clanciai · 9/10 · 7 May 2022]

You will get half way into the film before you will see any black orchid, but when it appears you will know there is a crucial moment at hand, whiled you never will be able to guess what the black orchid means or what significance it will have for the plot. The acting here is superb, and you will especially enjoy the perfect diction of Mary Laura Wood, who actually dominates the entire film although she walks out on it. Ronald Howard as an actor is the perfect match for her, while Olga Edwardes tends to be more supporting. Howard wants to divorce his wife, who is constantly nagging, complaining of his neglecting her for making his work a sa doctor a priority, and she has nothing against a divorce, since she will gain from it, but she wants to wait for the right moment to strike, to get her intrigues all set in due order first. There is eventually a murder, but it is impossible to suspect anyone for it, except perhaps the maid Sheila Burrell who idolises her matron and who might set something up just to harm the gentlemanly but neglecting husband. In fact, Ronald Howard reminds you very much of Leslie Howard, being the same kind ofd type. The result of the crime is an awful mess which seems impossible to sort out, until a black orchid provides a possible lead. It is an intelligent thriller marvellously acted, and the briefness of the film is only an advantage as it accelerates the virtuoso concentration of an awesome intrigue of a lady who was too much loved by too many for her own good.

Above average 'B'-pic that works as a whodunit with better realized characterizations than one might expect.

[jamesraeburn2003 · 8/10 · 18 April 2023]

Dr. John Winnington (played by Ronald Howard) is trapped in a loveless marriage to the vindictive socialite Sophie (played by Mary Laura Wood) who stops at nothing to get what she wants. Things hot up when her sister, a fellow doctor and scientist called Christine (played by Olga Edwardes) arrives from South Africa. She and John begin working together in his laboratory to find a cure for meningitis since they have so much in common and, in due course, they fall in love. Sophie divorces John and takes him for one third of everything he has. But, she has one further surprise up her sleeve. She reveals that her ex-husband will not be able to marry Christine since she is the sister of his divorced wife and, until she dies, it is illegal under the law. When Sophie dies as a result of nicotine poisoning, John becomes the chief suspect and following a damning statement made by her former maid, Annette (played by Sheila Burrell), who idolized her, he is promptly arrested, tried and sentenced to death. Christine teams up with travel writer Eric Blair (played by John Bentley) to find the real killer. They discover that Sophie and been planning to move to South Africa and she had booked two cabins, one for herself and the other for a Mr. Dagenham. Who is he? Was she planning a new life with another man? Is he the killer? The pair also trace Annette who was clearly jealous of all the attention that her late mistress received from men. Did she kill her in a fit of jealousy? And what is the significance of a rare black orchid that Sophie had dropped just prior to her death?

Above average British 'B'-pic whodunit that plays fair with the audience and leads to a reasonably satisfying denouement. There are plenty of suspects to keep murder mystery addicts happy and it holds the audience's attention as we try to work out who the killer is. Director Charles Saunders sustains the suspense as Bentley and Edwardes turn detective and find themselves fighting against literally all the odds as they try to save Howard from the gallows. The characterizations are better realized than one might expect from this sort of picture generating some tension from the triangle of love, jealousy and a nightmare marriage that leads to murder and the wrong man getting framed. Ronald Howard (son of Leslie) is competent as the well-meaning and hardworking, if rather dull, scientist and doctor while Mary Laura Wood is excellent as his vindictive and selfish wife who stops at nothing to get what she wants and doesn't care who she hurts on the way. She takes delight in the fact that her ex-husband will not be able to marry her sister, who he loves deeply, due to a legal loophole. John Bentley is quite good as the writer who helps Edwardes (who also plays her part competently) save her man. But, it is Sheila Burrell who offers the standout performance here as the maid who worshipped her mistress and her portrayal of the hardened jealousy and hatred of her ex-husband is totally convincing. The film is shot in film noir style black and white by cinematographer Eric Cross creating a genuine sense of place and unease. The London and Home Counties locations are also pleasant to look at and fit in with the storyline for which they provide the backdrop.

Quite loose and tentative plot.

[daviuquintultimate · 4 February 2024]

I will not deal about the plot, which you can easily pick up from elsewhere, and focus rather on my own critical impressions as a simple viewer.

To state it in a sentence: if you decide to abstain from more precise puncualizations you can still enjoy the film.

The main problem (minor flairs are also present) is: evidence is lacking, both when the first suspect is sentenced to death, and when, later, the two amateur detectives - by sheer luck - come across some clues that make them assume (without any certainty, again) who the real murderer might be. The filmmakers were undoubtely aware of that impasse, as the only way they could possibly conceive to make clear who really "did it" is the criminal's own confession.