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A different way of telling a story

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Plaudits to "Talking Pictures TV" for putting this criminally - neglected British gem into their late - night schedules. One of the later "portmanteau" works, anchored by the urbane Mr Eamonn Andrews who was huge on English television in the mid 1950s,"Three cases of murder" featured the extraordinary talents of Alan Badel in all three segments. The first - directed by Wendy Toye - is one of the cinema's eeriest experiences.Much of it shot in deep focus and at weird angles and with intense acting by Mr Badel as the ghost of a painter whose work is on display at a small museum. This also features Eddie Byrne as a barking mad naturalist called "Snyder"whose hobby is pinning insects to pieces of card.His latest acquisition(human) is several times referred to as "Snyder's trophy" - an allusion that may well be lost on 21st century viewers but would not have escaped a contemporary audience. I found it very disconcerting and a minor triumph for director and actors both. The second features the amiable John Gregson in a rare non - military role as one of a pair of chums inseparable since school who both go up to Cambridge(Trinity College) and from there to the advertising industry before falling for the same woman with entirely predictable results. THe main interest for modern viewers is the entirely civilised way the (rather ancient) undergraduates behave at their "May Ball" compared to their successors. Finally Orson Welles stars as the arrogant Foreign Secretary who belittles the splendid Alan Badel(A Welsh Firebrand M.P.) on the floor of the House and soon wishes he hadn't. The expected amount of scenery is chewed and as long as the cheque cleared I suspect Welles was a happy man. Do catch this if you possibly can.Hardly anyone will have heard of it and it really is worth the effort. In particular,the Wendy Toye episode is required viewing for serious students of British movies.

Three stories of murder and the supernatural. In the first, a museum worker is introduced to a world behind the pictures he sees every day. Second, when two lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman and she is killed, they are obvious suspects. Is their friendship strong enough for them to alibi each other? Third, when a young politician is terribly hurt by the arrogant Secretary for Foreign Affairs Lord Mountdrago, he uses Mountdrago's dreams to get revenge.Orson Welles received top billing, but he appears only in "Lord Mountdrago." According to Patrick Macnee, who had a supporting role, Welles began making suggestions to director George More O'Ferrall throughout the first day of filming, and by the third day he had taken over the direction of the entire segment.Does this surprise anyone? Of course Welles would be the star to draw audiences in, and of course he would try to take over the production, because that was very much the sort of chap he was. For better or worse, a film starring Welles was very much a Welles film.As far as anthologies go, this one is not often remembered. And as far as horror anthologies go (if this even counts), it seems all but forgotten, overshadowed by the later Amicus films. I love Amicus, and it is hard to beat them, but surely this film must have been some influence on the later Amicus and Hammer productions.

Eamonn Andrews is the link man for two tales of supernatural suspense and one murder mystery.In the first segment, titled In The Picture, an art gallery guide is lured into a macabre house painting by the artist and finds himself at the mercy of the residents who dwell there. In the second segment, titled You Killed Elizabeth, two friends fall in love with the same woman and when she is murdered it's obvious one of them did it. But which one? The final segment, titled Lord Mountdrago, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ruins the career of an opponent in Parliament and finds the man appearing in his dreams enacting retribution.As is always the case with anthologies, the quality of stories is mixed, with here the middle section being the one that is pretty standard fare. No such problem with the other two stories though.The first one is very creepy, even bordering on the terrifying as the tale reaches its conclusion. Once the story reaches the insides of the house in the painting, we are treated to a trio of odd characters living in a house that instantly conjures up images of horror. Ramshackle and creaky, director Wendy Toye further enhances the discord by using canted angles and personalised framing. An excellent story. Starring Hugh Pryse, Alan Badel and Eddie Byrne.The third tale is considerably boosted by Orson Welles giving bluster to the story written by W. Somerset Maugham. Not without genuine moments of humour, it never reaches scary heights but always it feels off-kilter, the revenge dream attack angle devilish and the production has good quality about it. Very good. Alan Badel co-stars and although the three stories are not related, he is the constant actor in all three. Grand old British trilogy. 8/10

All three stories contained within this film have interesting concepts, but they don't quite reach their full potential. The best is the first, directed by a woman (Wendy Toye), mainly for a fantastic (in every sense of the word), hypnotic sequence of two people entering a painting; this story is certainly highly imaginative, but the dialogue does tend to ramble a little. The second story, about two childhood friends and the woman who comes between them, has a good setup, but the big twist is blindingly obvious; to be fair, though, what happens after the big twist is much less so. The third story also has a great concept (a man entering another man's dreams at will), but it goes on too long, and in my opinion Orson Welles is slightly miscast as a victimized character. Alan Badel, who appears as three different characters in all three stories, walks away with the acting honors. **1/2 out of 4.