The Scotland Yard Mystery

An intriguing little crime thriller from 1934 which is somewhat reminiscent to the work of Edgar Wallace. It is a tale about modern-day body snatchers and a clever insurance scam that has the coppers at their wits end.

When a major insurance company gets a little concerned that five of their clients have all died of apparent heart attacks in the last few months, they decide to look deeper into the case - seeing as it's costing them an arm and a leg! The boyfriend of sassy Mary Stanton (Belle Chrystall) is implicated (albeit unwittingly) and she phones daddy for help. Whaddya know, our dad in question happens to be top Scotland Yard Commissioner Stanton (played by legendary actor/manager Gerald Du Maurier). Pretty soon the trial leads to the charismatic Dr. Charles Masters (George Curzon). Incidentally, Curzon was not only an actor (playing in Sexton Blake and The Hooded Terror with Tod Slaughter) but also a war hero and real-life aristo. Perhaps this is the reason as to why in the film he plays an oh-so distinguished physician with a place in Harley Street AND a practice in the East End where he does Robin Hood-style charity work. That said, he also does a little work for Scotland Yard where he first appears as Commissioner Stanton's colleague.

Masters has devised a serum that can turn people into the living dead – modern day zombies if you will. The coffins of the five apparently dead men contain nothing more than books and Masters later informs Stanton that the ‘corpses’ are in fact alive and living in other countries! It all has to do with a nifty racket that he operates, claiming life insurance when their clients seem to drop dead. He is assisted by his missus cum female villain Irene Masters (Austrian soprano and occasional actress Grete Natzler). A clever cat and mouse game ensues when Scotland Yard try their darnest best to trap Masters, who always seems one step ahead of the game…

The film is well-paced and has some atmospheric London location shots. There’s a cracking scene in a Speakeasy-style club which features an enthralling performance by a double-jointed female dancer.
The Scotland Yard Mystery is competently directed by Thomas Bentley (possibly best known for his Dickens work). Du Maurier seems too old really to play a Scotland Yard commissioner, in fact he died that same year. However, his performance - old fashioned as it may seem – benefits from his usual underplaying and naturalistic style. That said, George Curzon's part is infinitely more interesting and his performance is far from lacking in charm.
The piece was written by actor/writer Wallace Geoffrey and is based on his stage play of the same title.

Part of the British Film Collection, this DVD release merely offers an Image Gallery as bonus.