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Serena is a 1962 black-and-white, British B film crime thriller directed by Peter Maxwell and stars Patrick Holt, Emrys Jones and Honor Blackman. The title of the film is the name of one of the characters, Serena Vaughan, who may have figured in a murder.[1] Serena was part of a double bill and was later released to the home media market with Impact (1963), also directed by Peter Maxwell.[2]

Serena
Title card
Directed by	Peter Maxwell
Written by	Edward Abraham Valerie Abraham Reginald Hearne
Produced by	John I. Phillips
Starring	Patrick Holt Emrys Jones Honor Blackman
Cinematography	Stephen Dade
Edited by	Allan Morrison
Music by	John Gregory
Production company	Butcher's Film Service
Distributed by	Butcher's Film Service
Release date	June 1962 (1962-06) (UK)
Running time	60 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Detective Chief Inspector Gregory (Patrick Holt) from Scotland Yard, and his partner, Sergeant Conway (Bruce Beeby), are called in to investigate the shotgun murder of a woman at Rosehill Cottage, a remote Surrey cottage. The victim appears to be Ann Rogers (Honor Blackman), the wife of womanising artist Howard Rogers (Emrys Jones). Her face, however, is so badly disfigured by the two shotgun blasts, it is hard to be sure of her identity. Rogers looks for a birthmark that would positively prove the body belongs to his wife, but it is not there.

At first, Gregory had considered Rogers as the chief suspect, but his alibi proves he is innocent. When Ann suddenly shows up, the identity of the murdered woman may rest on her friend, Claire Matthews, who is missing. A search for both the artist's mistress, Serena Vaughan, and the missing woman, intensifies, but Ann's motivations are also suspect. One of the women may know the truth.

Cast

Production

Principal photography on Serena took place on location in Surrey, and at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England.[3]

Critical reception

TV Guide gave Serena two out of five stars, calling it a "Basic programmer with a plot more clever than most";[4] while the Radio Times rated it three out of five stars, and wrote, "Rising well above the quota-quickie average, this entertaining little whodunnit shoehorns an extravagant amount of plot into its short running time. Directed at a fair lick by Peter Maxwell";[5] and Allmovie called the film an "interesting mystery."[6]

In a 2004 review, John Pym described Serena as "stagey" and, "(a)... not very taxing mystery."[7]

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Serena at IMDb

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