The Price of a Song
Encyclopedia
The Price of a Song is a British crime film, directed by Michael Powell
. The Price of a Song was one of 23 quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936 and features a largely forgotten cast – only Felix Aylmer
, here in a minor role, would go on to a significant film career.
", with only a handful of production stills known to survive. Along with Powell's directorial debut Two Crowded Hours
(1931) and his feature The Man Behind the Mask
(1936), The Price of a Song is currently included on the British Film Institute
's "75 Most Wanted
" list of missing British films.
's clerk Arnold Grierson, seeing a way to easy money, forces his daughter Margaret to marry wealthy but obnoxious songwriter Nevern, ignoring her romance with local newspaper editor Michael Hardwick. Soon after the wedding, Grierson requests the loan of a significant sum of money from Nevern and is furious and humiliated to be flatly turned down. He begins to make elaborate plans to murder Nevern on the assumption that Margaret will then inherit her husband's estate. Meanwhile the desperately unhappy Margaret has rekindled her relationship with Hardwick. Nevern finds them in a café together and causes a public scene. Margaret determines that her only course of action is to divorce Nevern, a prospect which horrifies her father.
Nevern is in the process of composing a new song, and lodges a draft manuscript with his publisher. Making sure he has set up a foolproof alibi, Grierson goes to Nevern's house and kills him as he is finalising his new composition. As he leaves through one door, Hardwick, intending to ask Nevern to divorce Margaret, arrives through another. Hardwick finds the body and alerts the police, who in the circumstances do not believe his story and arrest him on suspicion of murder.
The interested parties later gather at Nevern's home to hear the reading of the will. Margaret is declared the sole inheritor of all her husband's money and assets, to the delight of her father. He is so happy that he begins to whistle, and gives himself away because it is Nevern's finished composition, which he could only have heard by being in the house on the night of the murder.
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
. The Price of a Song was one of 23 quota quickies directed by Powell between 1931 and 1936 and features a largely forgotten cast – only Felix Aylmer
Felix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
, here in a minor role, would go on to a significant film career.
Preservation status
The Price of a Song is among eleven of these films of which no extant print has been located, and its current status is "missing, believed lostLost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
", with only a handful of production stills known to survive. Along with Powell's directorial debut Two Crowded Hours
Two Crowded Hours
Two Crowded Hours is a 1931 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie and is the first film where Powell is credited as the director.-Plot:...
(1931) and his feature The Man Behind the Mask
The Man Behind the Mask
The Man Behind the Mask is a 1936 British mystery film directed by Michael Powell and starring Hugh Williams, Jane Baxter, Ronald Ward, Maurice Schwartz, George Merritt, Henry Oscar and Peter Gawthorne...
(1936), The Price of a Song is currently included on the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" list of missing British films.
Plot
Impecunious bookmakerBookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
's clerk Arnold Grierson, seeing a way to easy money, forces his daughter Margaret to marry wealthy but obnoxious songwriter Nevern, ignoring her romance with local newspaper editor Michael Hardwick. Soon after the wedding, Grierson requests the loan of a significant sum of money from Nevern and is furious and humiliated to be flatly turned down. He begins to make elaborate plans to murder Nevern on the assumption that Margaret will then inherit her husband's estate. Meanwhile the desperately unhappy Margaret has rekindled her relationship with Hardwick. Nevern finds them in a café together and causes a public scene. Margaret determines that her only course of action is to divorce Nevern, a prospect which horrifies her father.
Nevern is in the process of composing a new song, and lodges a draft manuscript with his publisher. Making sure he has set up a foolproof alibi, Grierson goes to Nevern's house and kills him as he is finalising his new composition. As he leaves through one door, Hardwick, intending to ask Nevern to divorce Margaret, arrives through another. Hardwick finds the body and alerts the police, who in the circumstances do not believe his story and arrest him on suspicion of murder.
The interested parties later gather at Nevern's home to hear the reading of the will. Margaret is declared the sole inheritor of all her husband's money and assets, to the delight of her father. He is so happy that he begins to whistle, and gives himself away because it is Nevern's finished composition, which he could only have heard by being in the house on the night of the murder.
Cast
- Campbell GullanCampbell Gullan-Selected filmography:* Far from the Madding Crowd * A Welsh Singer * Doorsteps * The Right Element * A Member of Tattersall's * At the Mercy of Tiberius * Tilly of Bloomsbury...
as Arnold Grierson - Marjorie Corbett as Margaret Nevern
- Gerald FieldingGerald Fielding-Selected filmography:* The Three Passions * Goodbye Love * The Scarlet Empress * The Price of a Song * The Man Behind the Mask * A Chump at Oxford * They Met in Bombay -External links:...
as Michael Hardwick - Dora BartonDora BartonDora Barton was an actress who appeared in films between 1916 and 1938.She was the daughter of actress Mary Barton and the sister of actress Naoni Barton...
as Letty Grierson - Eric Maturin as Nevern
- Charles MortimerCharles Mortimer-Selected filmography:* Watch Beverly * You Made Me Love You * Sometimes Good * The Return of Bulldog Drummond * The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes * The Price of a Song * Someone at the Door...
as Oliver Bloom - Oriel Ross as Elsie
- Henry CaineHenry Caine-Selected filmography:* The Temporary Widow * Dreyfus * The Shadow Between * The Ghost Train * Number Seventeen * Red Ensign * The Price of a Song * Three Maxims...
as Stringer - Sybil Grove as Mrs. Bancroft
- Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
as Graham
External links
- The Price of a Song at BritMovie