Grand National Night (1953)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Just what I expected

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

I loved this B picture, black & white from 1953 and very English of it's time. It takes place in Liverpool and involves a race horse owner (the always underrated Nigel Patrick) whose horse wins the Grand National. His blowsey but beautiful wife (Moira Lister) isn't interested in him, his lifestyle of managing horses or anything which has given them the grand lifestyle they have, other than indulging in the rewards that the money available gives her, to party all night and get drunk constantly and go around with other men. One night she comes home and a row ensues leading to a fight. She grabs a knife, and that's all we see until the following morning. The rest of the film follows the investigation of her disappearance, involving her sister, a police officer played by the excellent Michael Hordern, and various other friends. Eventually, Nigel Patrick is rumbled, he confesses to a family friend (a woman who seems to like him more than she should) and it is clear to us the audience that his number is up. I was expecting him to be led away to justice and the film to end. Just keep watching, I was totally fooled.

I wanted to like GRAND NATIONAL NIGHT: it's one of those low rent British murder mysteries filmed at Nettlefold Studios in Surrey, incorporating various familiar faces from British film and TV into its cast. The story is an intriguing one in which a horse owner's absolutely horrible wife is accidentally killed by him one night; he covers up the crime, and is subsequently investigated by a local detective.The first half of this production is effective, painting a dysfunctional relationship between everyman hero Nigel Patrick and his harridan of a wife (Moira Lister, suitably vile). It's in the second half where things fall apart: Michael Hordern (who still looks old, even in the early '50s) appears as the detective, and there's a hell of a lot of questioning going on. The outcome of the film is genuinely surprising, but the journey there just doesn't grip your attention. The inspiration for this one seems to have been Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER but while that film had you on the edge of your seat throughout, this one has you sliding off it entirely as you fall asleep.

Found this little gem when browsing for this type of film (British B films) on Amazon.Nigel Patrick plays a very decent sort, he's a racehorse trainer who happened to train the grand National winner. Moira Lister who looks absolutely gorgeous plays his unfaithful drunken wife.The plot revolves around what happened after the horse wins the big race, when the wife provokes her husband, character name Gerald Coates so much he does her in. Foolishly as per normal he tries to get away with it instead of coming clean and claiming self defence of course this backfires and a murder investigation begins lead by a tenacious detective from the yard played by the excellent Michael Hordern.All in a all a very enjoyable thriller with a fine ending

This is a nifty little movie that surprised me, having come to it without great expectations. It centers about a racehorse owner and his playgirl type wife who doesn't even like horses. The Grand National for those that don't know is probably the worlds most famous steeplechase type race which is held every year at Aintree near Liverpool.Its a very demanding race bringing great kudos to the winner. The marriage of the principals and the wife storms off to a party on Grand National night and what develops from then on is a more than decent thriller with a couple of slick twists. It has a rather unexpected ending for its time, and is well worth watching if you get the chance.