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Sexton Blake on the Films Part 2: On the Sound Track by Walter Webb This article first appeared in THE COLLECTORS' DIGEST Vol.9 no.97, January 1955. © Walter Webb The novelty that synchronized sound brought to motion pictures had long worn off before any decision was arrived at to make a full-length, all-talking Sexton Blake picture, and it was not until the year 1935 that a British company began work on a screen adaption of Hamilton Teed's story "They Shall Repay!", which was published in UNION JACK No. 1,378 and featured Mademoiselle Roxane. When I first saw this film in Birmingham eighteen years ago - it was called "Sexton Blake and the Mademoiselle" - it required much fortitude on my part to sit and see the whole thing through, for, like many of its predecessors, it was a drab affair, not through any fault of the artistes, but due to the material at their disposal which offered no scope at all for them to exercise their talents. Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Alex Bryce, this picture was generally released week commencing 10th February 1936, and had George Curzon playing the role of Sexton Blake and Tony Sympson as Tinker. Both were no more than adequate in their respective parts, as was Lorraine Grey as Roxane. The character of Inspector Thomas was played by Edgar Norfolk. A bad start to the new Sexton Blake talking pictures, which was destined to be very little improved upon in the near distant future. Two years later Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released another Blake film, entitled "Sexton Blake and the Hooded Terror", which was adapted from the SEXTON BLAKE LIBRARY story, "The Mystery of No. 13 Caversham Square", by Pierre Quiroule, and quite a number of players well known in British films appeared in the cast. George Curzon and Tony Sympson were again Sexton Blake and Tinker; Granite Grant was played by David Farrar, and Mademoiselle Julie by Greta Gynt. A notable addition to the cast was Tod Slaughter, well known for his portrayal of Sweeny Todd, the Demon Barber, who was seen in the role of a character named Michael Larran. Mrs. Bardell Blake's housekeeper, was portrayed by Marie Wright. Slightly better than the previous film but a long, long way from being a good production, and one can only sum up by recording it as a waste of time for the excellent artistes who appeared in it.  Early in 1945 came an hour and twenty minutes' offering of another film featuring the famous character, entitled "Meet Sexton Blake". David Farrar, who had played the character of Granite Grant in the previous picture, enacted the role of Sexton Blake in this one and gave quite a good performance. A young actor named John Varley played Tinker. The film was an adaption of Anthony Parsons' story, "The Case of the Stolen Despatches" (SBL no.19, new series), and was directed by John Harlow. As in most of Anthony Parsons' stories Superintendent Venner was prominently featured, as was also Sergeant Belford. Venner was played by the well-known British actor, Gordon McLeod. The character of Yvonne, who was undoubtedly the Mademoiselle Yvonne de Braselieu of the SBL stories, was played by Magda Kun, and that of Mrs. Bardell was in the capable hands of Kathleen Harrison. Hardly a brilliant bit of casting here, for although the latter is in the front rank of British's character actresses, she lacks the physical proportions necessary to make her identical in any way to Blake's generously-formed housekeeper. It was indeed a very emaciated looking Mrs. Bardell who flitted across the screen in this particular film - a film notable not so much for its quality, which was only moderate, but for the appearance of a sixteen-year-old girl, playing only her second part in pictures, who is today, both here and in America, famous for her many splendid performances in films in which she has appeared, on the strength of which she has reached well-merited stardom. In private life Mrs. Stewart Granger, she is better known as Jean Simmons.During the same year, just prior to Christmas, British National-Anglo American Pictures distributed a further Sexton Blake film directed by John Harlow. This one was called "The Echo Murders", based on the SBL story "The Terror of Tregarwith", by John Sylvester, published in May 1943, and once again David Farrar played the role of Sexton Blake. A notable absentee was Tinker, and neither was Mrs. Bardell featured; in fact, in this hectic but confused picture, Blake battled without the assistance of any of the various favourite supporting characters well-known to readers of the Blake papers. This is the last Blake film to date, and at the time of writing there is no sign of any further productions featuring the famous character going before the cameras, for, without exception, they pulled in very little at the box-office. That they were poor money-spinners may be attributed to several factors; firstly, they were made as cheaply as possible; secondly, hardly one name likely to mean anything at the box-office was included in any of the productions; thirdly, selection of the stories adapted for the screen left a lot to be desired, and since they were all indifferently acted, directed and produced have long since been forgotten by the ordinary film-goer. If remembered at all it must be by the few remaining loyal readers of the Blake papers. Looking back on the hundreds of Blake stories that have been written, it must be admitted that a vast number of them would lend themselves most unkindly to cinematographic treatment. They were written for the thriller fan, and that means principally for masculine consumption, but a film which aims solely at satisfying the male with no regard at all for the entertainment of the opposite sex is destined to flop. The series of Sexton Blake stories ideally suited to the screen would be the Nirvana tales by Hamilton Teed, for they contain everything necessary to make good entertainment in that medium - a good plot, containing a strong human interest, with romance, adventure and crime proportionately blended. Having, with good reason, cast a vote of no confidence in British producers, I would like to see a Hollywood effort in respect of the Nirvana stories with all British players - or nearly so - in the leading roles. In the hands of a good scenario-writer these stories could be compressed into a whole to make a film - preferably in technicolour - which would appeal to the vast majority of cinema audiences. And who more suitable for this task than Barrie Lyndon, himself an old Sexton Blake writer, now resident in Hollywood, and famous for his highly successful play, "The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse", which was not only a success on stage and screen, but was very favourably received on TV and Radio. Barrie Lyndon also wrote the scenario for that excellent and unusual film "War of the Worlds", besides several others. Better known to readers of the old boy's papers as Alfred Edgar, he was for a time editor of the Nelson Lee Library in which capacity he has not escaped a certain amount of criticism from surviving readers of that periodical. But if his editorial ventures did not meet with the success aimed for, there is no question as to his ability as a writer, and he would be just the man to write up Sexton Blake for the screen.  Given the job of selecting the cast I would unhesitatingly choose British actor Guy Rolfe for the role of Sexton Blake, for any Blake follower who saw this fine actor in the part of the doctor in the recent British film, distributed by Renown Pictures, "Dance, Little Lady", must have been amazed at his uncanny likenes to the character as portrayed by that talented artist, E.R.Parker in the Blake papers. Dirk Bogarde, one of the most popular young stars of the British screen, would fill the role of Tinker admirably, whilst for the part of Mademoiselle Yvonne, the beautiful young adventuress who caused such riotous disturbances in the heart of the famous detective, Maureen O'Hara has all the necessary qualifications to make the role a successful one. Finding a British star or featured player to take the part of Nirvana the waif, who did to the youthful Tinker what Yvonne did to Blake, is a much more difficult task and I find it necessary to cast across the water for the star who would do more than justice to the role. The ideal choice there would be Virgina Mayo who although American is not obviously so, and has on more than one occasion filled the part of an English girl with success, as witness her pleasing performances as Lady Barbara Wellesley in C.S. Forrester's epic of the sea, "Captain Horatio Hornblower, R.N.", and as the Lady Edith in "King Richard and the Crusaders", the screen adaption of Sir Walter Scott's
famous story, "The Talisman", which is now going the rounds. As the blonde dancer who stole Tinker's heart and almost caused a break-up in the Baker Street firm, Virginia Mayo would not only look the part but would invest it with both charm and intelligence, and having no little ability as a dancer would be in her element. With a musical score added, one or two original dance numbers introduced and under capable direction a film with such a fine cast with unstinted co-operation from the technical side to do full justice to their talents, the story of Nirvana the dancer could easily be made into a first-class motion picture of wide appeal. Of course, the chances of such a film being made are practically nil, but if in some surprising manner it was made, it would go a long way towards extinguishing the unhappy memories of those cheaply produced home-made pictures which have been mentioned in this record, for there is no denying the fact that Sexton Blake has had a bad deal on celluloid - it is time he was given a break.© Walter Webb |