howardmorley
Yes they were Russell Napier as Capt. Stanley Lord and Tucker McGuire as The Unsinkable Molly Brown the latter credited in "Black Orchid"(1953) as "American Woman" in the travel agency - (blink and you will miss her).And to clear up an above user who commented that at one point a woman apologized she "had only one gardener", well it was the wife of the publisher of "Eric Blair" literary joke ha ha, played by Patrick Barr.The latter being miscast as he normally played professional honest roles like "Mutt" Summers in "The Dam Busters" (1955).Whenever a character has his car tampered with by the murderer sawing through brake pipes in a downhill ride, I find myself screaming at the screen "Turn off the ignition and change down gears and use the side of the road to brake your speed".I accept compulsory safety belts were some time off into the future.Another annoying trait occurred when a complete stranger (nice Christine) knocks at the door and a maid lets her in unmonitored even saying she will be going off duty leaving the house apparently unoccupied.Another stupid mistake in films occurs when the murderer insists on acknowledging his crime and explaining his motive unbidden to a stranger.I suspected the maid Annette had lesbian leanings for Sophie her boss, the estranged wife of Dr.John Winnington (Ronald Howard) but of course film producers could not deal with same sex love on screen in 1953.Anyway it kept my attention for an hour so I awarded it 6/10.
Paularoc
John Wittington is a dedicated physician married to a beautiful but unhappy woman, Sophie. She endlessly complains and snipes at him - for not showing up to a dinner party, for ignoring her and so forth. Clearly all of our sympathy is meant to be for the good doctor but the disgruntled, self- centered Sophie does have a point. He tells her that she knew from the beginning of their marriage that his work was the most important thing in his life. Here are two people who never should have married. Then enters Sophie's sister, Christine. She takes a great interest in his work and clearly admires him. In about two minutes they fall in love. Sophie agrees to a divorce. As she's leaving their house she, with a wicked grin, tells her now ex- husband that he will never be able to marry Christine because it is illegal for a man to marry his ex- wife's sister. Which he finds out to be true (was this really so back then?). Of course, if the ex- wife is dead, this problem goes away. Well, she does end up dead and the doctor is arrested and convicted of her murder. Fortunately, Christine and the doctor's good friend Eric don't believe he did it and investigate on their own. The movie is well paced and entertaining. It was nice seeing Ronald Howard as the doctor; I had only previously seen him in the Sherlock Homes television series. The entire cast was very good but special kudos go to the actress playing Sophie. Recommended as an enjoyable way to spend an hour.
JohnHowardReid
Marvelous isn't it how some bad old movies simply refuse to lie down and die? "Black Orchid" is a British quota quickie that will not surrender. Maybe because it has such a short running time, plus an intriguing title, plus Ronald Howard (whose Sherlock Holmes has a following), it has been a favorite on my local TV station. Hardly a year went by without two or three airings. And it was still running strong in 2006. By some miracle, the rights presumably then expired because it hasn't surfaced since. It's a thoroughly boring movie with absolutely nothing to offer. With the exceptions of Sheila Burrell's fawningly vicious Annette and Mary Laura Wood's preening socialite, the players are a lackluster lot. John Bentley is especially glum and even ever-reliable Russell Napier seems to be playing at half-steam.
filmfan86
I caught this film late one night on the ABC and was pleasantly surprised to find Ronald Howard - best known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the 1954 television series - playing the main character Dr.John Winnington, a kind hearted doctor who has the misfortune to stuck in a loveless marriage to a selfish woman, more interested in dinner parties than his work in curing disease.I thought Black Orchid was a rather good film, short and sweet (running a little less than one hour). A neat little murder mystery in a who-dunnit structure. The audience is able to participate in attempting to pick who the "real" killer is, following Christine and John's friend Eric as they desperately try to clear Winnington's name and find her sister's "real" murderer, whoever that may be...4 out of 5 stars.
AD
