Cast a Dark Shadow

Cast a Dark Shadow is a 1955 British suspense film noir directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by John Cresswell, based on the 1952 play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison, and Robert Flemyng. The film was released on 20 September 1955, distributed by Eros Films Ltd. in the United Kingdom and Distributors Corporation of America in the United States. The story concerns a husband who murders his wife.

Married for a year, Edward "Teddy" Bare kills his wealthy older wife Monica after she asks her lawyer Phillip Mortimer to change her will. He stages it to look as if she accidentally asphyxiated while drunkenly trying to light the gas fire (he having assiduously encouraged her to drink heavily as part of his control over her).

To his dismay, he discovers that she intended to leave him all her money; instead, he only inherits the mansion from a previous will while her fortune is left in trust to her only relative, her sister Dora. She leaves £200 to the elderly maid, but Edward convinces the maid that this money was in lieu of wages, getting her to work for free. Edward will receive the main inheritance only if Dora dies. An inquest rules Monica's death an accident, but her lawyer, Phillip, makes it clear that he suspects foul play. When Edward asks where Dora lives, Phillip tells him she is in Jamaica.

Edward meets Freda, a merry widow, in a seaside hotel and woos her. He invites her to stay at the large house he has inherited, which she agrees to, becoming friendly with the maid.

Edward marries Freda, who is closer to Edward's age than Monica was, but is far less trusting, keeping tight control over her fortune. As the death of a second wife so soon after the first, would be highly suspicious, he is powerless to do anything. The new couple meet a stranger to the area called Charlotte Young, whose car has broken down. She is looking for a house to purchase for an equestrian school and, as Edward used to work as an estate agent, he shows her several properties, making Freda jealous.

Edward lures Charlotte to his mansion late one night while Freda and the servant are out, where it is revealed that Charlotte is actually Dora. He admits killing her sister before trying to make her leave, however Freda returns home unexpectedly and escorts Charlotte to the door. After Charlotte drives away, Edward tells a horrified Freda that he killed Monica, secure in the knowledge that a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband and that he expects to inherit Charlotte's money, because he has tampered with the brakes on her car. He is shocked when Phillip enters the room, having heard his confession, followed by Charlotte herself. She had returned to the house after meeting the lawyer at the house entrance. Edward flees in his car, but the entrance is blocked, so he switches to another vehicle, only to realise too late that he has taken Charlotte's car. He loses control and drives over a cliff to his death.

The film was based on the play Murder Mistaken by Janet Green. Green wanted Dirk Bogarde to be in the play, but he declined, and Derek Farr played the role. When Lewis Gilbert was making The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954), he saw the play and thought it would make a good film, and he persuaded Bogarde to play the lead.

Bogarde helped get Margaret Lockwood to co-star; "I was dubious about being able to play such a character, though I liked her honesty," said Lockwood.