A Matter of Murder is a 1949 British second feature ('B') crime film directed and written by John Gilling and starring Maureen Riscoe, John Barry, Charles Clapham, Ian Fleming and John Le Mesurier.
Plot Mild-mannered bank clerk Geoffrey Dent is persuaded by his nagging, gold-digging girlfriend, Laura, to embezzle money. When an attempt is made on Laura's life, Geoffrey runs away with the cash to avoid being blamed. With the killer and a detective hot on his heels, Geoffrey hides out in a Cheltenham boarding house, where he becomes the murderer's next intended victim.
Cast John Barry as Geoffrey Dent Maureen Riscoe as Julie McKelvin Charles Clapham as Col Peabody Ivan Craig as Tony Ian Fleming as Det Sgt McKelvin John Le Mesurier as Ginter Sonya O'Shea as Laura Wilson Peter Madren as Sgt Bex Sam Lee as Cullen Blanche Fothergill as Miss Budge Tony Doonan as Suspect (uncredited)
Production The film was made by Vandyke Productions at Viking Studios, and on location at a former girls' school in Kensington dressed as a boarding house, and Paddington Station.
Reception Kine Weekly wrote: "Stilted acting and dialogue remove the edge from many intended thrills. Very moderate quota offering."
Picturegoer wrote: "Characters are drawn from stock, with a provincial boarding house setting, and the drama as a whole is most ingenuous. Maureen Riscoe is quite good as the heroine, but the rest of the cast hardly comes up to scratch."
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Tatty programme-filler."
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