Blind Justice (1934 film)

Blind Justice
Scene from the film[1]
Directed byBernard Vorhaus
Written byVera Allinson
Arnold Ridley (play)
Produced byJulius Hagen
Starring
CinematographySydney Blythe
Music byW.L. Trytel
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • 18 October 1934 (1934-10-18)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Blind Justice is a lost 1934 British thriller film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Eva Moore, Frank Vosper, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Roger Livesey, and John Mills.[2][3] It was written by Vera Allinson based on the 1932 play Recipe for Murder by Arnold Ridley,[4] and was made at Twickenham Studios as a quota quickie for release by Universal Pictures.[5]

A review of the play, mentioning the forthcoming film, was one of the first uses of the word "whodunit" in print.[6]

Preservation status

The British Film Institute has classed Blind Justice as a lost film.[7] Its National Archive holds a collection of stills but no film or video materials.[2]

Plot

A woman is blackmailed by a criminal, who has discovered that her brother was shot as a coward during World War I.[8]

Cast

Reception

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Played out on lines of dialogue, film is ingeniously constructed, and has genuinely surprising twist climax. ... Excellent performances by Eva Moore and Frank Vosper. Acceptable popular fare. While Arnold Ridley's plot may seem to stretch the long arm of coincidence unduly, it cannot be denied that he has fashioned a workmanlike piece of melodramatics with a climax that packs a genuine surprise."[9]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The story of this film is good ... but the treatment is unimaginative. The producer makes no attempt to break from the conventions of the stage: the plot is not only told mainly in dialogue, but unnecessary flashbacks still further hold up essential action. It is the clever, disarming character drawing of Eva Moore alone that reveals the story's invention and allows the ending to carry surprise. Without her the film would have been dull, with her it provides average entertainment for the not too sophisticated."[10]

Picturegoer wrote: "Here is an ingenious murder story spoiled, I should imagine, by being rushed and produced on an inadequate scale. It has, in some inexplicable manner, got an amateurish touch about it. However, in spite of these drawbacks, it is interesting in plot and contains a notable piece of characterisation from Eva Moore. ... Settings and camera work are good, but the continuity is not all that could be desired, and the picture, as a whole, lacks the polish that could have made it a really outstanding dramatic offering."[11]

References

  1. ^ "Blind Justice". The Daily Film Renter (2376): 6. 16 October 1934. ProQuest 3303425210.
  2. ^ a b "Blind Justice". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Blind Justice (1934)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021.
  4. ^ Goble, Alan (8 September 2011). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Chibnall, Steve (2007). Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film. British Film Institute. p. 277. ISBN 978-1844571550.
  6. ^ "Blind Justice". Variety. 115 (11): 19. 28 August 1934. ProQuest 1475877502.
  7. ^ Eyles, Allen; Meeker, David, eds. (1992). "Blind Justice". Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search. British Film Institute. p. 55. ISBN 0851703062.
  8. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | Blind Justice (1934)". BFI. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  9. ^ "Blind Justice". The Daily Film Renter (2379): 6. 19 October 1934. ProQuest 2594643337.
  10. ^ "Blind Justice". Kine Weekly. 212 (1436): 31. 25 October 1934. ProQuest 2338156257.
  11. ^ "Blind Justice". Picturegoer. 4: 17. 1 November 1934. ProQuest 1771188483.
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