Director: Stuart Walker
Writers: Leopold Atlas, John L. Balderston
Stars: Claude Rains, Douglass Montgomery, Heather Ange
1 Hour, 27 Minutes
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2N8eEFl
Synopsis
We start out with Jasper having a bad dream about a bunch of people in a church. He wakes up, and we see that he’s in an opium den. He leaves, and then we cut away to him in the choir at church. He leads the choir at this church. He doubles over coughing during his solo.
He’s been going “up to London twice a week for ‘treatment’.” His nephew, Edwin Drood comes by for a visit. It quickly becomes obvious that Jasper has a crush on Edwin’s fiancé, Rosa. Jasper’s been giving her music lessons in his spare time.
Eddie and Rosa go for a walk, and they have to deal with chaperones and silly guardians.
Neville and his sister, Helena, ride to town, and Neville meets Rosa on the trip. They go to meet Mr. Crisparkle, Eddie’s new tutor. All the various characters meet each other at Mr Crisparkle’s house for dinner. Neville gets on very well with Rosa, and Jasper gives him the stinkeye all evening. Neville admits to Crisparkle that he has violent tendencies and once pulled a knife on his father. Later, Neville and Edwin nearly come to blows over Rosa, but the fight is broken up by Jasper, who appears to be the voice of reason.
Rosa confesses that she’s terrified of Jasper; his image follows her around like a ghost. He stares at her way too much, as if he were threatening her. Neville pulls a knife on Drood, and then he confesses it to Mr. Crisparkle. This last story gets passed on and exaggerated all over town, but when he explains it, Rosa forgives him.
Rosa and Eddie decide that maybe the wedding isn’t such a good idea, and they decide to break off the wedding. They decide not to tell Jasper right now, as it might spoil his Christmas.
Jasper goes to see Durdles, the caretaker of the cemetery. He’s been promised a tour of the crypts, and now is the time. Down in the crypt is a pool of quicklime “Quick enough to eat your bones,” Durdles says. He shows him some tombs that are empty and some that are full. Durdles is quite drunk, and passes out during the tour. Jasper steals his keys and makes copies of them.
Neville is planning to leave tow soon, right after Jasper’s dinner party. Eddie runs into the old woman who runs the opium den, and she may be just a little insane. There’s a big storm, and lots of damage was done in the town.
Morning comes, and Jasper runs to Crisparkle, wanting to know what happened to his nephew, whom he last saw walking with Neville after the party last night. Neville is captured and arrested. Neville doesn’t know what happened to Eddie. They drag the river, but they don’t find a body. They do find Edwin’s watch, and they all take that as a sign that he’s dead.
Jasper learns that Edwin and Rosa’s wedding had been called off and he just faints right there on the floor. Jasper confronts Rosa and admits his love for her. Neville also admits he loves her, but he can’t act on it until he proves his innocence. They haven’t arrested Neville since there still isn’t a body.
Neville and Mr. Grewgious find Jasper’s opium equipment and also the mold for the key that opens the tomb. Meanwhile, Jasper goes back to the opium den and he admits what he did to the old woman. He’s upset for killing Edwin for no reason. The old woman is later found dead in Jasper’s home.
Neville goes to see Durdles and he wants a tour of the crypts as well. The tomb that was empty before isn’t empty now. Neville digs the grave open while Jasper sneaks up behind him. They fight while the villagers arrive. Neville and Durdles accuse Jasper, who runs off into the bell tower. He jumps off the tower and is killed.
Later on, Neville and Rosa get married.
Commentary
This was Charles Dicken’s final, unfinished story. I’m not familiar with the original story, so I was watching this film with no preconceptions. A lot of things just seem to happen for no reason, and are not really explained. The blurb describes Jasper as “an opium-addicted choirmaster,” yet the opium and him being a choirmaster have nearly nothing to do with the plot.
It’s mentioned several times that Neville is either Indian, Black, or somehow a person of color, but he’s clearly just a regular British white man in slightly dark makeup. I guess Neville’s ethnic background is just one more reason for everyone to assume he was guilty of murder. When he leaves town and returns disguised as an old man, the makeup is done well for a film, but I wonder how many people in real life would have been fooled? I’ve never seen anyone in makeup that I wouldn’t recognize in person, and this movie trope has always confounded me.
Claude Rains was giving music lessons to a girl whom he secretly was in love with who was also engaged to another man and then murders for her, and then is snubbed when he confesses his love. It’s almost exactly the same plot as when Rains starred in Phantom of the Opera in 1943.