Death at Broadcasting House is a 1934 British murder mystery film based on the novel of the same name written by Val Gielgud (brother of John Gielgud) and Eric Maschwitz (as Holt Marvell); the two of them also co-wrote the film's screenplay with Basil Mason. The film was directed by Reginald Denham.
On the evening of a mystery radio drama produced by the BBC, the actor playing the victim is strangled live on air, with everyone mistaking his dying screams for a part of his performance. It's up to Scotland Yard Inspector Gregory to identify the murderer.
The cast:
- Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Gregory (Ian Hunter)
- Leopold Dryden (Austin Trevor), one of the lead actors
- Joan Dryden (Mary Newland), the drama's leading lady and Leopold's wife
- Rodney Fleming (Henry Kendall), the drama's playwright
- Julian Caird (Val Gielgud), the radio drama's producer
- Poppy Levine (Betty Davies), a singer performing in a variety show at the broadcasting house
- Herbert Evans (Jack Hawkins), head of Programme Research
- Guy Bannister (Peter Haddon), a foppish friend of Evans who attends Poppy's variety show at the time of the murder
- Sydney Parsons (Donald Wolfit), the victim; an actor in the radio drama
- Sir Herbert Farquharson (Robert Rendel), the head of the BBC office
- The Chief Commisioner (Gordon McLeod), Inspector Gordon's unnamed boss
- Higgins (Ivor Barnard), the broadcasting house's handyman
Tropes
- The Alibi:
- Fleming has one in that he was sitting in a phone call with his brother at the time of the murder. He turns out to have discreetly stepped away from the call and committed the murder during the phone call, in which his brother did all of the talking.
- Bannister says his is that he was with Poppy when the murder happened. He spends most of the rest of the movie tracking her down.
- All of Them: While questioning Bannister about his whereabouts at the time of the murder, Inspector Gregory asks him which floor he was on. Having spent much of the evening going up and down the stairs looking for the variety show, Bannister can't narrow it down:"I should think it's fairly safe to say, all floors.
- All Part of the Show: Because Parsons is only heard and in a room alone, his screams are mistaken for him acting.
- As Himself: A lot of radio personalities and orchestra members seen in the film are real people playing themselves.
- Asshole Victim: Parsons blackmailed Joan Dryden after seducing her into an affair and is mentioned to have been a professional blackmailer.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Rodney Fleming spends most of the story being there for Joan Dryden; all the while he had killed Parsons and framed her husband for it.
- Blackmail: Parsons was blackmailing Joan Dryden over an affair they had.
- Camp Straight: Despite his camp mannerisms, Bannister is only seen vying for Poppy.
- Fiery Cover Up: In an ashcan near where Parsons was killed, the investigators find a script page with a message containing Joan Dryden's name.
- Foreshadowing: In the radio drama in which Parsons is killed, Joan Dryden plays a married woman having an affair with another man. She turns out to be in a similar situation in real life, having had a past liaison with Parsons, though it happened before she married Leo Dryden.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Bannister seemingly marries Poppy after their brief time together, saying he's taking her on a honeymoon near the conclusion.
- The Napoleon: Higgins is shorter than most other cast members, but is very assertive.
- Red Herring: Leopold Dryden stands out as the most suspicious at first because he stepped out of the radio booth around the time of the murder.
- The Reveal: Fleming killed Parsons because he was blackmailing too.
- Running Gag: Whenever Bannister is puzzled by someone's conclusions, he asks "how do you arrive at that?"
- Self-Disposing Villain: The chase at the ends leads Fleming into a room with a high voltage warning on the outside door. Missing it, he goes inside and is fatally electrocuted.
- Show Within a Show: Murder Immaculate, the radio play during which Parsons is murdered.
- Stairwell Chase: After being exposed as the killer, Rodney Fleming runs up the stairs with a gun, followed by Inspector Gregory and other officers.
- Upper-Class Twit: Bannister is always dressed fancily, and mostly treats his status as a person of interest in a murder case as an amusement.
