Sally Gray was one of the glamour girls of British films While she had been in films from the early 30s she only made a handful of prestige films of which she was the star. "The Mark of Cain" was one of them.
Christianna Brand, a British writer of some quality mystery fiction and the "Nurse Matilda" series for children, was one of the writers on this film. She only collaborated on three films in the 40s - "Green for Danger" and "The Mark of Cain", both of which starred Sally Gray and "Death in High Heels"(1947) (at 50 minutes an obvious quickie but what a title!!!)
Sally Gray (looking like Vera-Ellen) plays Sarah, a flighty girl who has just left the convent. She immediately comes between two brothers who both love her.
She marries the younger brother John (Patrick Holt) who turns out to be an over bearing bully, only concerned with the family business. Eric Portman plays older brother Richard, on the surface kind and concerned but with a hidden meaning - he wants Sarah and John's love destroyed.
John falls ill - there is a scene in a chemist shop where Sarah buys arsenic - I could guess the rest. Sarah explained to the chemist that she wanted it for gardening (in reality she wanted to cover up a bruise on her face.)
The staff feel that she is poisoning her husband as the marriage had never been happy but unbeknownst to them they have reconciled and she is doing her best to save him.
It is a pretty murky melodrama - the stars (Sally Gray and especially Eric Portman) help give the film class.
Dermot Walsh, as the young man who is in love with Sarah, doesn't have much to do.
Christianna Brand, a British writer of some quality mystery fiction and the "Nurse Matilda" series for children, was one of the writers on this film. She only collaborated on three films in the 40s - "Green for Danger" and "The Mark of Cain", both of which starred Sally Gray and "Death in High Heels"(1947) (at 50 minutes an obvious quickie but what a title!!!)
Sally Gray (looking like Vera-Ellen) plays Sarah, a flighty girl who has just left the convent. She immediately comes between two brothers who both love her.
She marries the younger brother John (Patrick Holt) who turns out to be an over bearing bully, only concerned with the family business. Eric Portman plays older brother Richard, on the surface kind and concerned but with a hidden meaning - he wants Sarah and John's love destroyed.
John falls ill - there is a scene in a chemist shop where Sarah buys arsenic - I could guess the rest. Sarah explained to the chemist that she wanted it for gardening (in reality she wanted to cover up a bruise on her face.)
The staff feel that she is poisoning her husband as the marriage had never been happy but unbeknownst to them they have reconciled and she is doing her best to save him.
It is a pretty murky melodrama - the stars (Sally Gray and especially Eric Portman) help give the film class.
Dermot Walsh, as the young man who is in love with Sarah, doesn't have much to do.