I wanted to like GRAND NATIONAL NIGHT: it's one of those low rent British murder mysteries filmed at Nettlefold Studios in Surrey, incorporating various familiar faces from British film and TV into its cast. The story is an intriguing one in which a horse owner's absolutely horrible wife is accidentally killed by him one night; he covers up the crime, and is subsequently investigated by a local detective.The first half of this production is effective, painting a dysfunctional relationship between everyman hero Nigel Patrick and his harridan of a wife (Moira Lister, suitably vile). It's in the second half where things fall apart: Michael Hordern (who still looks old, even in the early '50s) appears as the detective, and there's a hell of a lot of questioning going on. The outcome of the film is genuinely surprising, but the journey there just doesn't grip your attention. The inspiration for this one seems to have been Hitchcock's DIAL M FOR MURDER but while that film had you on the edge of your seat throughout, this one has you sliding off it entirely as you fall asleep.

Found this little gem when browsing for this type of film (British B films) on Amazon.Nigel Patrick plays a very decent sort, he's a racehorse trainer who happened to train the grand National winner. Moira Lister who looks absolutely gorgeous plays his unfaithful drunken wife.The plot revolves around what happened after the horse wins the big race, when the wife provokes her husband, character name Gerald Coates so much he does her in. Foolishly as per normal he tries to get away with it instead of coming clean and claiming self defence of course this backfires and a murder investigation begins lead by a tenacious detective from the yard played by the excellent Michael Hordern.All in a all a very enjoyable thriller with a fine ending

A British film from 1953 starring Nigel Patrick as a racehorse owner and the beautiful Moira Lister as his wife Babs, this is a film about what happens after Gerald's (Mr. Patrick) horse wins the national. Babs, who doesn't seem to like horses much, parties in Liverpool without Gerald, thinks of divorce, drives home (without a license and probably a little impaired) and has a confrontation with her husband. A struggle occurs and she is killed. From there, the film becomes a detective story. This is where it gets more interesting, as the players in the film are questioned about certain aspects of their behavior. Not a long film (less than 80 minutes), it holds your interest from start to finish. Not essential, but a fairly good detective story/thriller.

This is a nifty little movie that surprised me, having come to it without great expectations. It centers about a racehorse owner and his playgirl type wife who doesn't even like horses. The Grand National for those that don't know is probably the worlds most famous steeplechase type race which is held every year at Aintree near Liverpool.Its a very demanding race bringing great kudos to the winner. The marriage of the principals and the wife storms off to a party on Grand National night and what develops from then on is a more than decent thriller with a couple of slick twists. It has a rather unexpected ending for its time, and is well worth watching if you get the chance.