The Mystery of Edwin Drood

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1935

1h 25m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

17%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

In England, school choirmaster John Jasper (Claude Rains), a secret opium addict, develops a passion for Rosa Bud (Heather Angel), the fiancée of his nephew, Edwin Drood (David Manners). When the Landless twins -- the volatile Neville (Douglass Montgomery) and Helena (Valerie Hobson) -- arrive at the school from Ceylon, Neville takes an interest in Rosa as well. After John invites Edwin and Neville to dinner to reconcile them over Rosa, Edwin disappears, and John accuses Neville of foul play.

Andre Sennwald

New York Times

This Mystery of Edwin Drood, though it adds nothing of consequence to the great mystery, is good Dickens and a genuinely fine horror story in the bargain.

Feb 4, 2021

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Dickens' final, unfinished novel was turned into a dark, brooding horror-adjacent film about an uncle who covets his nephew's fiance.

Rated: 3.5

Mar 7, 2022

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Celluloid Dreams

Charles Dickens' unfinished novel receives a somewhat mediocre, but fairly entertaining treatment in this Kino Lorber Studio Classics blu-ray highlighted by a strong central performance by Claude Rains.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 6, 2022

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Lauren Humphries-Brooks

Citizen Dame

The Mystery of Edwin Drood is far from the best Dickens adaptation of the period, but it does give life to a story that has always been a little loose and truncated.

Nov 18, 2021

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Campbell Nairne

Cinema Quarterly

By partially divesting Edwin Drood of its caricatured characters, Universal pull it down to the level of a second-rate thriller.

Feb 4, 2021

Full Review

Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy)

Esquire Magazine

More Dickens, more Christmas carols emanating from snow-thatched cathedrals, while strange doings go on under the arches. Claude Rains works hard, but he's had better parts.

Apr 17, 2020

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Steve D

The clunky script is the killer.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/05/24

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Audience Member

A Charles Dickens movie i never heard of. A bit Gothic.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Audience Member

Starts out impressively then quickly becomes run-of-the-mill.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Stuart Walker

Director

Claude Rains

John Jasper

Douglass Montgomery

Neville Landless

Heather Angel

Rosa Bud

David Manners

Edwin Drood

Valerie Hobson

Helena Landless

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Synopsis

In England, school choirmaster John Jasper (Claude Rains), a secret opium addict, develops a passion for Rosa Bud (Heather Angel), the fiancée of his nephew, Edwin Drood (David Manners). When the Landless twins -- the volatile Neville (Douglass Montgomery) and Helena (Valerie Hobson) -- arrive at the school from Ceylon, Neville takes an interest in Rosa as well. After John invites Edwin and Neville to dinner to reconcile them over Rosa, Edwin disappears, and John accuses Neville of foul play.

Director: Stuart Walker
Producer: Edmund Grainger
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Oct 16, 2014
Runtime: 1h 25m