# The Howard Case > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Howard_Case > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Howard_Case.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howard_Case > Source revision: 1339469216 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|1936 film}} {{Infobox film | name = The Howard Case | image = | caption = | director =Fraser Foulsham
[Frank Richardson](/source/Frank_Richardson_(director)) | producer = Fraser Foulsham | writer = [H.F. Maltby](/source/H.F._Maltby) | narrator = | starring =[Jack Livesey](/source/Jack_Livesey)
[Olive Sloane](/source/Olive_Sloane)
[David Keir](/source/David_Keir) | music = | cinematography = | editing = | studio = Sovereign Films | distributor = [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures) | released = {{Film date|1936|08|10|df=yes}} | runtime = 62 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = }} '''''The Howard Case''''' (also known as '''''Dangerous Venture''''') is a 1936 British [crime film](/source/crime_film) directed by Fraser Foulsham and [Frank Richardson](/source/Frank_Richardson_(director)) and starring [Jack Livesey](/source/Jack_Livesey), [Olive Sloane](/source/Olive_Sloane) and [David Keir](/source/David_Keir).{{Cite web |title=The Howard Case |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150203012 |access-date=13 November 2025 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}Wood p.93 It was adapted by [H.F. Maltby](/source/H._F._Maltby) from his play ''Fraud''.{{Cite journal |date=19 March 1936 |title=The Howard Case |volume=229 |issue=1509 |pages=33 |id={{ProQuest|2339692442}} |magazine=[Kine Weekly](/source/Kine_Weekly)}} It was produced as a [quota quickie](/source/quota_quickie) for release by [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures).Chibnall p.289 ==Synopsis== A [lawyer](/source/lawyer) plots to murder his cousin and then [frame](/source/frameup) his business partner. ==Cast== * [Jack Livesey](/source/Jack_Livesey) as Jerry * [Olive Melville](/source/Olive_Melville) as Pat * [Arthur Seaton](/source/Arthur_Seaton) as Howard / Phillips * [Olive Sloane](/source/Olive_Sloane) as Lena Maxwell * [David Keir](/source/David_Keir) as Barnes * [Jack Vyvyan](/source/Jack_Vyvyan) as Sergeant Halliday * [Ernest Borrand](/source/Ernest_Borrand) * [Vincent Sternroyd](/source/Vincent_Sternroyd) * [Gladys Mason](/source/Gladys_Mason) * [Renaud Lockwood](/source/Renaud_Lockwood) ==Reception== ''[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)'' wrote: "The plot is weak, and is forced in an attempt to make it plausible. The acting is good though not oustanding."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1936 |title=The Howard Case |volume=3 |issue=25 |pages=42 |id={{ProQuest|1305806512}} |magazine=[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)}} ''[Kine Weekly](/source/Kine_Weekly)'' wrote: "Unimaginative crime melodrama ... The principal players strive hard to make something of the theme, but pedestrian treatment and cramped staging create too many loopholes for their efforts to be measured in terms of arresting entertainment. Quota booking for the unsophisticated. ... To be a good crime drama, it is necessary to be slick, and this British effort is anything but that. Slow moving, amateurishly directed, and not too well photographed, it ploughs the obvious course, all too frequently unconscious of a responsibility to entertain. It is, in fact, the sincerity of the principal players that alone creates enough interest to carry the film into the bottom half of the supporting feature category." ''[Picturegoer](/source/Picturegoer)'' wrote: "Very slow and obvious story, mechanically put over with a minimum of imagination and indifferent technique. Arthur Seaton is quite good in a dual role, and the other artists make the most of the material at their command under somewhat trying circumstances."{{Cite journal |date=2 August 1936 |title=The Howard Case |volume=6 |issue= |pages=22 |id={{ProQuest|1771216495}} |magazine=[Picturegoer](/source/Picturegoer)}} ''The Daily Film Renter'' wrote: "Although there are various changes of scene, the production is played in cramped settings, while the plot is not at all convincing. Nevertheless, there are certain consolations, such as, for instance, the appearance of Olive Melville, an attractive newcomer, who gives a pleasing show as Pat. Arthur Seaton essays the dual roles of Howard and Phillips with as much credibility as his opportunities afford."{{Cite journal |date=13 March 1936 |title=The Howard Case |volume=6 |issue=2806 |pages=4 |id={{ProQuest|3127105796}} |magazine=The Daily Film Renter}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== * Chibnall, Steve. ''Quota Quickies: The Birth of the British 'B' Film''. British Film Institute, 2007. * Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986. ==External links== *{{IMDb title|0165318}} {{Frank Richardson}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard Case}} Category:1936 films Category:1936 drama films Category:1936 crime films Category:1936 English-language films Category:British drama films Category:British crime films Category:British black-and-white films Category:1936 British films Category:Films directed by Frank Richardson Category:Quota quickies Category:Universal Pictures films Category:English-language crime films Category:English-language drama films {{1930s-UK-drama-film-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Howard Case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howard_Case) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howard_Case?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.