The Third Clue Explained

The Third Clue
Director:	Albert Parker
Producer:	Ernest Gartside
Based On:	novel The Shakespeare Murders by Neil Gordon
Editing:	Reginald Beck
Studio:	Fox-British Pictures
Runtime:	72 minutes
Country:	United Kingdom
Language:	English

The Third Clue is a 1934 British crime film directed by Albert Parker and starring Basil Sydney, Molly Lamont and Raymond Lovell.^[1] The film was based on Neil Gordon's novel The Shakespeare Murders, which also inspired The Claydon Treasure Mystery (1938).^[2] It was made at Wembley Studios as a quota quickie by the British subsidiary of 20th Century Fox.^[3]

Synopsis

The screenplay concerns two criminals who try to recover loot hidden in an isolated manor house.^[4]

Cast

• Basil Sydney as Reinhardt Conway
• Molly Lamont as Rosemary Clayton
• Robert Cochran as Peter Kerrigan
• Alfred Sangster as Rupert Clayton
• C. M. Hallard as Gabriel Wells
• Raymond Lovell as Robinson, the butler
• Adela Mavis as Zeta
• Frank Atkinson as Lefty
• Ernest Sefton as Newman
• Ian Fleming as Mark Clayton
• Bruce Lester as Derek Clayton
• Mabel Terry-Lewis as Mrs. Fuller

Bibliography

• Chibnall, Steve. Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film. British Film Institute, 2007.
• Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.
• Wood, Linda. British Films, 1927-1939. British Film Institute, 1986.

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Third Clue (1934). https://web.archive.org/web/20090114065110/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/53977. dead. 2009-01-14.
2. Book: Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. 1 January 1999. Walter de Gruyter. 9783110951943. Google Books.
3. Chibnall p.281
4. Web site: The Third Clue (1934) - Albert Parker - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie.