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'''''The Orchard End Murder''''' is a 1980 British [[short film|short]] [[thriller film]] directed and written by [[Christian Marnham]], and starring [[Tracy Hyde]], [[Bill Wallis]], [[Clive Mantle]], and [[Raymond Adamson]]. It marked the film debut of [[Clive Mantle]].<ref name="GroupKondek1999">{{cite book|last1=Group|first1=Gale|last2=Kondek|first2=Joshua|last3=Angela|first3=Yvonne Jones|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yPtkAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 March 2013|date=3 December 1999|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-0-7876-3185-7|page=272}}</ref><ref name="Speed1983">{{cite book|last=Speed|first=F. Maurice|title=Film Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0g4nAQAAIAAJ|access-date=26 March 2013|year=1983|isbn=9780491030120}}</ref> The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981 as a support to ''[[Dead & Buried]]''.
'''''The Orchard End Murder''''' (also known as '''''The Bunnyhole Murder''''') is a 1981 British [[short film|short]] [[thriller film]] directed and written by [[Christian Marnham]], and starring [[Tracy Hyde]], [[Bill Wallis]], [[Clive Mantle]], and [[Raymond Adamson]].<ref name="BFIsearch">{{Cite web |title=The Orchard End Murder |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150247905 |access-date=14 April 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}</ref> It marked the film debut of [[Clive Mantle]].<ref name="GroupKondek1999">{{cite book|last1=Group|first1=Gale|last2=Kondek|first2=Joshua|last3=Angela|first3=Yvonne Jones|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yPtkAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 March 2013|date=3 December 1999|publisher=Gale|isbn=978-0-7876-3185-7|page=272}}</ref><ref name="Speed1983">{{cite book|last=Speed|first=F. Maurice|title=Film Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0g4nAQAAIAAJ|access-date=26 March 2013|year=1983|isbn=9780491030120}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
In Kent in 1966, a young woman called Pauline Cox ([[Tracy Hyde]]) accompanies her boyfriend to a cricket match and wanders off to explore the countryside surroundings when she becomes bored. She meets an eccentric stationmaster ([[Bill Wallis]]). After having tea with him, she meets his half-witted assistant called Ewen ([[Clive Mantle]]) who kills a rabbit which disgusts and upsets her. She runs off but meets Ewen again in the nearby orchard. Clearly having feelings for her, he kisses her, but she tries to escape from him on a pile of apples when she realises his intentions. He pulls her down, sexually assaults her then strangles her to death. That evening, the hunchback discovers Ewen with Pauline's body in the shack where he lives, and helps him to bury the corpse in the orchard. The next day, Ewen is arrested and breaks down hysterically when Pauline's body is disinterred.
In Charthurst Green, Kent in 1966, Pauline Cox accompanies her boyfriend Mike Robins to a village cricket match in which he is playing, but becomes bored and wanders away. She fetches up at the local railway halt, where she meets and is entertained to tea by an eccentric railway gatekeeper. She later meets his half-witted assistant Ewen who was seen earlier watching Pauline with Mike and upsets her when he proceeds to kill a rabbit in her presence. Making her way back to the match, Pauline is waylaid by the simple-minded Ewen as she crosses an apple orchard; when his advances become violent, she tries to fight him off while he sexually assaults and strangles her which ultimately leads to her death. That evening, the gatekeeper discovers Ewen with Pauline's body in the shack where he lives, and later helps him bury the corpse in the orchard. The next day, however, Ewen inadvertently betrays himself: the body is disinterred by the police and Ewen breaks down hysterically. Years later, the gatekeeper, who has disavowed Ewen, encourages the friendship of another village youth.


==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Tracy Hyde]] as Pauline Cox
* [[Tracy Hyde]] as Pauline Cox
* [[Clive Mantle]] as Ewen
* [[Clive Mantle]] as Ewen
* [[Bill Wallis]] as Railway Gatekeeper
* [[Bill Wallis]] as railway gatekeeper
* [[Raymond Adamson]] as Mr. Wickstead
* [[Raymond Adamson]] as Mr. Wickstead
* [[Jessie Evans (actress)|Jessie Evans]] as Mrs. Trowel
* Jessie Evans as Mrs. Trowel
* [[Mollie Maureen]] as Old Lady at Station
* [[Mollie Maureen]] as old lady at station
* [[Cyril Cross]] as Village Policeman
* [[Cyril Cross]] as village policeman
* [[Mark Hardy (actor)|Mark Hardy]] as Robins
* Mark Hardy as Robins
* David Wilkinson as Batsman
* David Wilkinson as batsman
* Geoffrey Frederick as Cricket Captain
* Geoffrey Frederick as cricket captain
* Peter Hutchins as Detective
* Peter Hutchins as detective
* Alexander John as Radio News Reader
* Alexander John as radio newsreader
* Alan Neame as Rector
* Alan Neame as rector
* [[Rik Mayall]] as Policeman [uncredited]
* [[Rik Mayall]] as policeman (uncredited)

==Release==
The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981 as a support to ''[[Dead & Buried]]'' (1981).

===Reception===
''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote: "Peter Jessop's carefully textured camerawork initially lends this mini-feature an edge of the picturesquely sinister. But the resolution of the anecdote is rather forced and anti-climactic, and some of the details (like the police searching the orchard at the dead of night) ring distractingly false. All the same, it represents a début of some promise."<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1982 |title=The Orchard End Murder |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305838491/D800B44B904C4595PQ/1 |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=49 |issue=576 |pages=31 |via=ProQuest}}</ref>

===Home media===
[[BFI Flipside]] released a dual format [[Blu-ray]]/[[DVD]] edition on 24 July 2017.


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard End Murder, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard End Murder, The}}
[[Category:British thriller films]]
[[Category:British thriller short films]]
[[Category:1980 films]]
[[Category:1981 thriller films]]
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[[Category:British short films]]
⚫
[[Category:1980 thriller films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]
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[[Category:English-language thriller films]]
⚫
[[Category:1981 short films]]




Latest revision as of 00:46, 4 December 2024

The Orchard End Murder
DVD cover
Directed byChristian Marnham
Written byChristian Marnham
Produced byJulian Harvey
Starring
CinematographyPeter Jessop
Edited byPeter Goddard
Music bySam Sklair
Production
company
Marnham & Harvey Productions
Distributed byG.T.O. Films Ltd.
Release date
  • 11 January 1981 (1981-01-11)
Running time
48 minutes
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish

The Orchard End Murder (also known as The Bunnyhole Murder) is a 1981 British short thriller film directed and written by Christian Marnham, and starring Tracy Hyde, Bill Wallis, Clive Mantle, and Raymond Adamson.[1] It marked the film debut of Clive Mantle.[2][3]

Plot

[edit]

In Charthurst Green, Kent in 1966, Pauline Cox accompanies her boyfriend Mike Robins to a village cricket match in which he is playing, but becomes bored and wanders away. She fetches up at the local railway halt, where she meets and is entertained to tea by an eccentric railway gatekeeper. She later meets his half-witted assistant Ewen who was seen earlier watching Pauline with Mike and upsets her when he proceeds to kill a rabbit in her presence. Making her way back to the match, Pauline is waylaid by the simple-minded Ewen as she crosses an apple orchard; when his advances become violent, she tries to fight him off while he sexually assaults and strangles her which ultimately leads to her death. That evening, the gatekeeper discovers Ewen with Pauline's body in the shack where he lives, and later helps him bury the corpse in the orchard. The next day, however, Ewen inadvertently betrays himself: the body is disinterred by the police and Ewen breaks down hysterically. Years later, the gatekeeper, who has disavowed Ewen, encourages the friendship of another village youth.

Cast

[edit]
  • Tracy Hyde as Pauline Cox
  • Clive Mantle as Ewen
  • Bill Wallis as railway gatekeeper
  • Raymond Adamson as Mr. Wickstead
  • Jessie Evans as Mrs. Trowel
  • Mollie Maureen as old lady at station
  • Cyril Cross as village policeman
  • Mark Hardy as Robins
  • David Wilkinson as batsman
  • Geoffrey Frederick as cricket captain
  • Peter Hutchins as detective
  • Alexander John as radio newsreader
  • Alan Neame as rector
  • Rik Mayall as policeman (uncredited)

Release

[edit]

The film was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981 as a support to Dead & Buried (1981).

Reception

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Peter Jessop's carefully textured camerawork initially lends this mini-feature an edge of the picturesquely sinister. But the resolution of the anecdote is rather forced and anti-climactic, and some of the details (like the police searching the orchard at the dead of night) ring distractingly false. All the same, it represents a début of some promise."[4]

Home media

[edit]

BFI Flipside released a dual format Blu-ray/DVD edition on 24 July 2017.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Orchard End Murder". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. ^ Group, Gale; Kondek, Joshua; Angela, Yvonne Jones (3 December 1999). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Gale. p. 272. ISBN 978-0-7876-3185-7. Retrieved 26 March 2013. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ Speed, F. Maurice (1983). Film Review. ISBN 9780491030120. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  4. ^ "The Orchard End Murder". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 49 (576): 31. 1 January 1982 – via ProQuest.
[edit]


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