THE ORCHARD END MURDER (1981) – The DVD Review

Review by Roger Carpenter

So here is a rather unique little film.  Put together as a short second feature for the monstrous 1981 hit Dead and Buried, The Orchard End Murder runs right at 50 minutes and, while greatly fictionalized, was based on an actual murder.

The story centers on a young woman, Pauline Cox (Tracy Hyde), who wanders off from her boyfriend’s cricket match to explore an apple orchard.  She makes her way through the orchard into the yard of the railway gatekeeper who invites her in for tea.  As she is enjoying the break from the heat, a huge mountain of a man—who happens to have a mind as small as his muscles are large—walks in.  He works in the orchard and does odd jobs for the gatekeeper, himself a bit of a pariah because of his hunched back.  As the tea break becomes more and more uncomfortable and Pauline grows more and more anxious, she takes leave from the gatekeeper’s house to make her way through the orchard and back to her boyfriend.  However, she never makes it.  Her boyfriend searches for her and eventually a manhunt is organized. No one seems to know who the murderer may be.  Could it be the strange little hunchbacked gatekeeper who so desperately wanted Pauline to stay for tea?  Or what about the dense giant of a man who actually kills a rabbit during afternoon tea?  Could it be the boyfriend?  After all, it’s a first date and Pauline has exhibited disinterest in him by wandering off during his cricket match.  However, Pauline’s corpse is eventually discovered and the obsessive murderer exposes himself by his actions upon seeing the body of the woman in a shallow grave.

Writer/director Christian Marnham was relatively new to film, having only directed three documentary shorts before embarking upon The Orchard End Murder.  However, he had many years’ experience in filming commercials and was very successful in that endeavor, working with numerous name filmmakers during his commercial days.  So, though The Orchard End Murder represented a slight change of pace for him, his technical expertise allowed for him to be successful.

The Orchard End Murder is a very entertaining little film. Though I have been careful not to give away the murderer, viewers will know who did it shortly after the film begins, as Marnham isn’t as concerned with keeping the killer’s identity a mystery as he is depicting the aftermath of the murder, the search for the missing girl, and the capture of the killer.  In a way, it is more police procedural than “whodunit.”  But it also contains a bit of humor as well while also managing to stir up a bit of sympathy for the killer.

Overall, The Orchard End Murder is an entertaining film with not just an interesting plot but also an interesting story about how the short feature came to be.  Kino Lorber has again teamed up with Britain’s Redemption video label to release this unique short feature.  The Blu-Ray comes with three lovely interviews with director Marnham, actress Tracy Hyde, and actor David Wilkinson.  They all have very interesting stories to tell about their careers and of The Orchard End Murder in particular.  Also included is Marnham’s documentary short (25 mins.) called The Showman, about Wally Shufflebottom, an old-school carny who even as late as the 1970’s was working at a local carnival using a knife-throwing routine with the help of fully nude models.  It’s a quirky and entertaining short that sheds light on a dying breed of showman as well as on a form of entertainment that has, unfortunately, gone the way of drive-in movie theaters.  Lastly, there is a short commentary by Marnham about filming The Showman.

Though the main feature is short, the interviews and additional documentary more than make up for this.  The entire package is an entertaining curiosity from yesteryear guaranteed to keep your attention, and well worth a look.  The film can be purchased directly through Kino Lorber at kinolorber.com or through Amazon.