The Drayton Case (1953) watch online HD

This is the first in the series of cinema shorts based on the files of 'Scotland Yard' metropolitan police. Edgar Lustgarten starts his introduction by talking about the police file 'Charles Drayton' and asks if you kill someone "what do you do with the body?" He then goes into the story of Charles Drayton who murdered his wife on Christmas Eve 1941. The problem with the body was easy for him to solve, as dozens of dead bodies were been discovered all over London during World War 2, mainly because of the blitz by German bombers. And so after killing her he hides the body of his wife in the cellar of a school house on Chester Street in Islington, London. Her body is later found two years later. When her body is checked by a police pathologist, he finds that she has a fractured Larinx, so he decides that she was strangled to death. After a long check which takes weeks, by elimination they identify the body is found to be that Elizabeth Drayton. The reason her husband killed her was to save having to pay her one pound in maintenance money every week. It finally comes out from the caretaker at the school house where the body was found, that there was a fire in the cellar and the 'firewatcher' is revealed to be Charles Drayton. He is later arrested at Charring Cross Underground Station. It gets very emotional as he try's to make his escape down a circular stairs. Also of interest is the incidental music which livens this up, as well as the laid back John Le Mesurier. And been a short it rushes along and is well directed by Ken Hughes.

Very, very pleased to have found this series and so far the episodes are very winning. Have to write my review of the series as a whole here because IMDb have given each short it's own page. Originally these shows were designed as "featurettes" to be shown in cinemas along with the main movie. First started filming in early 1950s and first cab off the rank was "The Drayton Case" about a sensational war time murder that patrons could probably remember. Another early one was "The Dark Stairway" from 1954 in which the police comb the city for a blind man who may or may not be a murderer - it was taken from a 1952 case.

The shorts were ground breaking in their realistic lighting, dialogue and police procedural realism and so popular were they that cinema patrons often phoned theaters to find out exactly when the "Scotland Yard" featurettes were due to start so they wouldn't miss a bit of the action. All the shorts are uniformly excellent, there are none below standard. After the first few years the shorts went global with Anglo claiming to have sold the series in 51 countries - so a Continental air crept in - "The Wall of Death" featured the suspicious doings of a pair of Polish circus workers, "Destination Death" ends up in Lisbon.

Among the more macabre "The Lonely House" deals with a house of horrors and a couple who run a phony dating agency. "The Ghost Train Murder" - not many boasted stars who got their break from "Scotland Yard" but this one had Jill Ireland and Diane Aubrey as two girls in a block of flats who have been forced into prostitution. "The Never-Never Murder" is about the evils of hire purchase. Also "The Strange Case of Blondie" - a vaudeville theme, this is about a deadly blonde cat burglar who doubles as a door to door surveyist in order to case the houses!!

Most notable as the first of 39 episodes of the SCOTLAND YARD series, directed by Ken Hughes, THE DRAYTON CASE is noticeable for the first appearance of Edgar Lustgarten, in an ornate sitting-room surrounded with too much furniture and narrating the episode straight to camera. This is also noticeable for the only appearance of DAD'S ARMY star John le Mesurier in the role of a police inspector. He doesn't have much to do, other than mutter lines under his breath and cast a calming presence over the whole proceedings.

An entry in the Scotland Yard series filmed at Merton Park Studios and produced by Alec C. Snowden. The body of a woman is discovered in wartime London but it appears to be foul play and not the result of Herr Hitler's Luftwaffe. Inspector Henley investigates while noting the irony of himself looking for a single killer when death is raining from the skies anyway. With his assistant he tracks down the murderer.

John Le Mesurier is calm and collected as usual as the inspector and Vincent Ball gives good support as his assistant. At only 26 minutes there is more plot than character building but there is a fine performance from Victor Platt as the errant husband. Cinematographer John Wiles films some effective noir images (deep shadows) and Ken Hughes, who went onto bigger things, directs with a firm hand. The knowledgeable Edgar Lustgarten narrates the story as he would in all 39 entries in this good little series.