Nigel and his staff and friends are sad at the tragedy, which was caused by his thoughtless wife's cruel behaviour. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Previous to this film version Grand National Night had been presented as a BBC Radio serial as well as the original stage play, which was produced in 1945 and 1946. A solid thriller, directed by George Minter, in which we watch the authorities try to catch the killer, knowing "whodunnit". Despite part of the plot of this thriller making use of a journey by train, all this appears as studio sets and model work.

she insists on taking his pregnant mare out for a ride, which eventually causes the horse to go into labour prematurely. The original West End cast included Leslie Banks, Hermione Baddeley, Frederick Lloyd, Olga Edwardes, Campbell Copelin and Vincent Holman. But then he has a violent argument with his wife (Moira Lister), which results in her accidental murder.Nigel Patrick stars as Gerald Coates; a racehorse owner/trainer/breeder, whose wife, Babs (Moira Lister), is a drunken party-loving "hellcat". The film was based on Campbell and Dorothy Christie’s 1945 play, which was also presented as a BBC Radio serial in 1946. Other members of the supporting cast include Noel Purcell as the vet, Betty Ann Davis as 'Pinkie' (a posh version of Dora Bryan) and Colin Gordon as Patrick's scrounging friend, 'Buns'. Read all After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' (Nigel Patrick) horse wins the Grand National, his wife comes home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. It premiered at the New Theatre, Oxford before transferring to the Apollo Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 268 performances between 12 June 1946 and 1 February 1947.

Racehorse trainer Gerald Coates argues with his alcoholic wife Babs on the evening after his horse has won the Grand National. What ought to have been night of celebration turns sour for Grand National winning owner "Coates" (Nigel Patrick) when a contretemps with his drunken wife "Babs" (Moira Lister) leaves him the subject of a police investigation. Nigel Patrick is assured and convincing in the central role of a gentlemen horse trainer who becomes involved in a game of cat-and-mouse with a Scotland Yard inspector who suspects him of murder. Lister features but sparingly, but her characterisation of "Babs" does rather get under your fingernails, so as the police work proceeded I did start to feel just a bit of sympathy for her rather idiotic, but good natured, husband - and Patrick is on decent form in that role here. The ‘train’ seems to be that which appeared in A Run For Your Money and Stop Press Girl (both 1949) showing what is thought to be a GWR ‘Castle’ but it turns into a model!

After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' horse wins the Grand National, his wife come home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Babs has already been banned from driving for 10 years, because she killed a man whilst she was driving under the influence. In this British crime thriller directed by Bob McNaught, adapted from the play by Dorothy and Campbell Christie, a British racehorse owner (Nigel Patrick) manages to win the Grand National with his horse. Nigel Patrick gives a good performance in his role as Gerald Coates, the owner who is thrilled about winning the greatest steeplechase in the world, but then does something he really shouldn’t have.

Maybe not his "latest and greatest screen role" as it said in the publicity blurb, but it's not a bad vehicle for a star who does enough here to keep it interesting, if not exactly intriguing with what must have been a fairly limited budget. The crime element of the story isn't particularly gripping, but the acting, rural setting and old-fashioned drawing room atmosphere add up to an enjoyable film - more of a melodrama with a mystery element than a thriller. The black and white print is mostly good, but to my eyes some of the scenes had a slightly bleached quality, with vertical lines occasionally appearing on the right-hand side of the screen. Coates insists that she didn't come home after the big race, but the police begin to suspect him, after a train ticket is found in his coat. It is not known where exactly this scene was filmed, and it seems rather out of sync with the rest of the film, which is set in Liverpool.The horses are splendid, and there are quite a few 'hold-your-breath' moments when various characters take some pretty scary fences.

It skips along nicely and engagingly for eighty minutes with a solid contribution from the usually reliable Noel Purcell and a soupçon of glamour from the underused Beatrice Campbell too. A racehorse owner (Nigel Patrick) who accidentally killed his wife (Moira Lister) matches wits with a detective. After race horse trainer Gerald Coates' (Nigel Patrick) horse wins the Grand National, his wife comes home drunk, and the two of them have a violent argument, and she is accidentally killed. Filmed at the old Nettlefold Studios and starring oily Nigel Patrick as a racing horse trainer, this keeps its momentum up in that traditional cap-doffing British way. He drives her to Liverpool to try and get her medical attention, but he discovers that she had died and leaves her in the car which belongs to a friend of hers.The viewer understands that Nigel, whilst not happy, has tried to make his marriage work, but his wife's alcoholism and reckless behaviour has left him exasperated with her. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.