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6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Crime on the Hill remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s British manor house mysteries. If you need pacing that moves faster than a turtle in molasses, skip it. If you like people talking in parlors while looking slightly guilty, you might have a good time.
The plot is pretty standard for the time. Someone dies, the vicar gets curious, and a lot of tea gets poured. It feels like a stage play that someone just happened to point a camera at.
There is this one scene where a character spends way too long adjusting their hat. It makes you wonder if the actor just didn't know what else to do with their hands. It's these tiny, awkward beats that make the movie feel like a real time capsule.
The vicar is surprisingly nosy. I suppose that's the point, but he really doesn't know when to quit. He makes Speed Cop look like a model of professionalism. You keep expecting someone to tell him to go back to his church and leave the police work to the actual police.
It lacks the sharp wit you find in some other films from this era like Girls Will Be Boys. It takes itself just a bit too seriously. That said, the sets look like they spent at least five pounds on the wallpaper. That's something, right?
The house feels strangely empty most of the time. Like half the staff went on strike or just wandered off to have lunch. It gives the whole thing an oddly hollow, echoey feeling. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just... weird.
There is a lot of standing around. People stand in corners. They stand by windows. They stand in doorways. It is a very vertical movie.
Sometimes you can tell they were trying to hide the fact that they were working with a very small budget. The lighting in the library scenes is particularly flat. It makes everyone look like they are standing under a giant sheet of frosted glass.
I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It's more of a curiosity. A bit like finding an old, slightly dusty photograph in a box in your attic. You look at it for a few minutes, notice the fashion, and then put it back. 🧐