Mystery of Edwin Drood

source: Mystery of Edwin Drood

The film has taken great pains to do the Dickens moods justice in the cathedral corridors and cryptic vaults, with fogs and choir boys, and Claude Rains enhances the realism of the Dickens spirit. This was Dickens' last novel and left unfinished, but after the last chapter it's already obvious who the murderer is, and the film adaptations, especially this, have simply followed the logical consequences of Dickens' hints. When you have read the novel you must draw the conclusion, that it was unnecessary for Dickens to finish it, and that's maybe why Dickens just didn't - the main thing had already been told. The Jasper figure is one of Dickens' eeriest and most debatable characters, a church singer in Christian service who leads a double life, and the novel and story seems to be something of an effort to probe into the phenomenon of double characters with double lives. He actually loves his nephew and his becoming bride, but he is so infatuated with the bride and frustrated by his personal sexual shortcomings that he is on the verge of a breakdown and falls to the temptation of losing control - which he finds reason to bitterly regret afterwards. So the novel is actually a tragedy, and the film follows suit and takes the consequences at full length - at which Dickens himself hesitated and died. Both the novel and Claude Rains make the Jasper figure unforgettable.

I like my Dickens adaptations to be faithful and respectful. Although this novel was unfinished at the time of Dickens death, it was only the ending that was left unfinished and he seems to have made it clearly to from other sources how the novel was to be concluded. The 2021 TV version seemed to me to take a lot of liberty and tried to make it more complicated that it actually is in order to help boost its TV appeal. This 1935 version was much more to the point and respectful to the Dickensian spirit. Because of this I thoroughly enjoyed it and remember it much more clearly as well as fondly as the 2012 version. There was a 1993 version which reportedly wasn't that well considered, but outside of purchasing an expensive used VHS from America and digging an old VHS player out of my grandads loft, I don't think I (or most of you) will ever get the chance to see that one. So for now this is the best version that we have.

Director: STUART WALKER. Screenplay: John L. Balderston and Gladys Unger. Adaptation: Leopold Atlas, Bradley King. Based on the unfinished 1870 novel by Charles Dickens. Photography: George Robinson. Film editor: Edward Curtiss. Music composed by Edward Ward and Clifford Vaughan, orchestrated by Clifford Vaughan. Art director: Albert S. D'Agostino. Special effects: John P. Fulton. Technical advisor: Hilda Grenier. Assistant directors: Phil Karlson, Harry Mancke. Associate producer: Edmund Grainger. Copyright 5 February 1935 by Universal Pictures Corp. Presented by Carl Laemmle. New York opening at the Rialto: 20 March 1935. 9 reels. 85 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Rains is a cathedral choirmaster and opium addict who falls in love with Angel, the fiancee of his nephew, Manners. During a raging storm on Christmas Eve he strangles Manners and dumps his body in a quicklime pit in the crypt under the cathedral. He then tries to pin the murder on Montgomery, just back from Ceylon. COMMENT: A brilliant screenplay by John L. Balderston and Gladys Unger from a fine adaptation by Leopold Atlas and Bradley King, which not only preserves the dialogue and flavor of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, but provides it with a most satisfactory and satisfying conclusion, more than makes up for some very incompetent acting and Stuart Walker's rather stagey direction. George Robinson's photography is less brilliant than usual, but there are some magnificent sets by art director Albert S. D'Agostino.

The original source material for this film comes from Charles Dickens' last work which was incomplete at the time of his death. There is much speculation regarding how the author would have finished the story, which was one of his darkest and most nihilistic works of fiction. Universal played up the novel's non-ending when advertising the film which arrives at its own conclusion. Claude Rains was not the first choice to play the opium addicted choir master who becomes obsessed with a young woman. The studio initially wanted Boris Karloff who was not available. Interestingly Karloff was also the first choice when the studio was casting THE INVISIBLE MAN two years earlier. But a falling out between Karloff and director James Whale prevented that. So on two separate occasions Rains stepped in for Karloff. Karloff would return the favor when Rains was unable to appear in Universal's proposed sequel for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA which became known as THE CLIMAX (1944). Back to Edwin Drood. David Manners portrays the title character. Though some articles online claim this was Manners' last film, that is not true; he would appear in five more pictures. Manners has substantially less screen time than everyone else since Drood vanishes in the second half, which gives us our mystery. Where has he gone, what has happened to him, was he murdered?, etc. These are the questions left dangling by Dickens' unfinished manuscript. In addition to Rains and Manners, there are other distinguished members in the cast. Drood's girl is played by Heather Angel, and Douglass Montgomery is cast as a rival for her affections. British actress Valerie Hobson is also on hand as another young lass. The performers are assisted by ornate sets that provide a melodramatic, Gothic quality. The studio allocated a sizable budget for this production, and it shows. When Rains suggests that Manners has been murdered by Montgomery's character, Montgomery also disappears- but then returns in a disguised form to investigate what really happened. The choir master is the culprit in this version, but of course, Dickens may have intended for him to be "innocent" after all...if Drood was meant to turn up alive and well at the end. We'll never know. But we do know that in this version, making Rains the villain is a laudable choice...he's an expert at playing deranged behavior with a flair. His performance in THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD is absolutely brilliant.

It does start off very slowly, but, it is definitely worth sticking with. I'm becoming more and more of the opinion that these adaptations of classic novels, despite many of them being abridged versions of the original books, are more in keeping with what the author intended and are a better viewing experience. There is now a culture of taking classic novels and casting BAME actors in the lead roles or in the case of an upcoming Jules Verne adaptation, giving a major character a complete sex change (and change of employment) This version of Edwin Drood begins in an opium den and that aspect of life is well done considering when this was made. It slows temporarily to establish the characters, but, then it picks up and is a jolly good movie. Well acted and directed it is not a Universal Horror, but, is mainly quite dark. I would recommend anyone who loves movies of this era to watch it.

Above all else, it was the promise of a hilariously young Claude Rains that prompted me to watch 'Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935),' a Universal adaptation of Charles Dickens' final, unfinished novel. Rains had, of course, appeared in Whales' 'The Invisible Man (1933)' a few years earlier, but, curiously, it was difficult to get a good look at him in that film, so this was my main opportunity to catch the excellent supporting actor before he was forever condemned to playing grey-haired characters. His role here as John Jasper is completely unforgettable, a riveting portrait of inner torment that communicates so much through every bodily twitch and strained facial expression. Just watch Rains as his character watches the beautiful Rosa through hungry, agonised eyes – the pure anguish rippling through Jasper's body is almost painful to behold, the image of a polluted mind and soul reaching the end of its tether. It's moments like this that made Rains one of the finest actors of Hollywood's golden age. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" is itself one of literature's greatest mysteries. Left unfinished in 1870 after Dickens' death, the story reaches no conclusion, leaving scholars to ponder endlessly about how the author intended to wrap up the novel's events. The murderer of Edwin Drood (if, indeed, he was ever murdered) will thus never been known for sure. Stuart Walker's adaptation attempts to fill in these gaps as best as it can, and this is accomplished quite well, indeed. Despite the high potential for failure, the story does feel as though it's flowing towards its logical conclusion, and John Jasper's guilt ultimately seems the only practical option. Also a product of the screenwriters' imaginations was the identity of Dick Datchery, a wheezing old stranger who arrives in town for a month or two – in the film, he is the incognito Neville Landless, determined to solve the mystery of Drood's disappearance, though Dickens' story reaches no such conclusions. Though we can never know the author's true intentions, these respectful suppositions are probably the best we're ever going to get. Claude Rains is clearly the film's standout performer, giving a edgy and tortured performance as the tormented soul who (in this version) enacts his frustrations through strangulation. David Manners, no stranger to Universal horror regulars, is quite good as the titular murder victim, though his character isn't all that interesting next to his deranged uncle. Douglass Montgomery, with distinctive chiselled facial features, plays the romantic lead with sufficient conviction, and his interpretation of Datchery is enjoyable, as well. I didn't recognise Heather Angel by sight, but she's appeared in several films with which I'm quite familiar – Ford's 'The Informer (1935)' and Hitchcock's 'Lifeboat (1944).' Her performance as Rosa Bud (yeah, I laughed, too) in 'Mystery of Edwin Drood' is perfectly serviceable, given that it demands nothing except that she look beautiful – and she does. For fans of Charles Dickens, fans of Claude Rains, or fans of good old-fashioned storytelling, this little-seen mystery drama is very much worth the effort it takes to track down.

When his eye is caught by a pretty bride-to-be in a sleepy Victorian town, a dashing stranger finds himself up against more than the groom ... with deadly consequences. Truncated telling of an uncompleted story, the history of which other reviewers have covered. There's plenty of Dickensian delights in the minor characters and great potential in what is not a love-triangle, but a square: one object of attraction for three men with differing motives. So maybe a love-rhombus? Sounds rude. The early scenes brush past a lot of humour, but once the characterization establishes itself the mood improves - that is, after the music editing stops drowning out the dialogue. The hero is a dark-skinned Indian, which is surprising given the author's blood-curdling views on the Indian mutineers from a few years previous. The potential really is for dark secrets to emerge from the past, and there's one poor piece of editing after the first ring scene that accidentally shows how it might be done, when it seems the relationship of the betrothed couple has all of a sudden taken a sinister twist. But no - instead, the screenwriter has filled in the author's work with an implausible plot disguise, leaving the past untouched. Also untouched is the background of the drug abuse, but by this point I'm imagining a heap of dark psychology. The potential is there, just as in Great Expectations, and I'm sure Dickens wouldn't turn in his grave. The sets and costumes are charming. Cinematography has its moments, especially the close-up on the hero at the river, with torch-lights framing his head. Could do with a remake on a more entangled plot.

I just watched this one the other night again. I don't know how the entirety of "Mystery of Edwin Drood" got past the censors and the production code that was only a year old at the time. John Jasper (Claude Rains) is a choirmaster who frequents an opium den because he cannot deal with what he feels is the hypocrisy and ennui of church life. He even talks about how he envies the monks of old because at least they got to carve figures of demons as church decorations to release their dark side. The only spot of brightness in Jasper's life is Rosa Bud - folks I didn't come up with this name - who has been pledged to Jasper's nephew (David Manners as Edwin Drood) since the two were children. Yet Jasper still covets her as she becomes a young woman. Edwin and Rosa have always been friends, but seem to be approaching this marriage with all of the enthusiasm of somebody who is facing a root canal. Meanwhile, Neville and Helena Landless, a brother and sister of mixed racial heritage from Ceylon, come to town. With Nevile and Rosa it is almost love at first sight, but Neville realizes she is spoken for. Rosa and Edwin break their engagement, based on the fact that they eventually realize that their marriage was their parents' dreams, not their own. Earlier, Jasper has announced his love to Rosa in a very creepy way, and she is repulsed by his stalking. Jasper assumes that it is Edwin that is standing in his way, and that night, Christmas Eve, Edwin Drood disappears before anybody can be told of his broken engagement. What happened to Edwin Drood? That is the mystery. Watch and find out. This thing is just a huge code buster all around - that is part of its allure. Although the wrongdoers are punished in the end, the biracial love angle and the fact that there could be a hypocrite in a position of authority in the church violates the production code completely. There is also that great Universal Gothic atmosphere plus the acting is top notch. I highly recommend it.

This film is now about 80 years old and it refers to a time about 80 years before that. Much of the dialog is kind of Dickensian and all spoken with British accents. Yes its slow developing at first but at least this gives you a good introduction to the characters, much as a novel might do. But it proves again one fact that has been well known for 150 years: Charles Dickens was a heck of a storyteller. One of the foundation stones of mystery film making, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" still holds up in its mystery elements (murder, cemetery, crypt, fog, etc.) Claude Rains is bravura in a complex role. Sweet-faced Heather Angel, Douglass Montgomery and David Manners provide fresh, youthful energy. All of the performers bring Dickens' vivid characters to life. E.E.Clive gives one of his gem-like performances in a small part. Its a pleasure to let yourself go back in time as you enter the long-lost world of Dickens and this long-lost film making art.