This greatly contrasts with the novel as Noakes is only spoken of since we are introduced to the suspects once Peter and Harriet arrive at their new house. Sure enough, Noakes is then knocked unconscious, presumably killed. Cleaning lady Mrs Ruddle (Lou ise Hampton) is another person who has been threatened by Noakes he caught her stealing some of his fuel. The village policeman Constable Sellon (James Carney) also has a financial reason as Noakes is blackmailing him. Frank has an additional monetary motive – Noakes owes him £10. Noakes’ niece, Miss Agnes Twitterton (Joan Kemp-Welch), is revealed to be his heir, and in want of money in order to keep her fiancé, Frank Crutchley (Robert Newton). The film paints Noakes as an unpleasant man, with various people in the village shown to have motive for removing him. But the film more quickly incorporates the crime by depicting the victim Noakes (Roy Emerton) and his relations with those around him. The novel and the film begin with a focus on Lord Peter Wimsey (Robert Montgomery) and Harriet (Constance Cummings). In this, the film more closely resembles the play’s subtitle (‘A Detective Comedy in Three Acts’) than the novel’s. Peter and Harriet’s jokey banter as they agree to stop investigating and writing about crime is juxtaposed with the crime itself. The film switches between romance and detection more readily. The film’s genres are more equal than in the novel, which after all places primacy on a love story which is ‘interrupted’ by detection. We began our discussion on genre by commenting on this genre hybridity in more detail. It still suggests that something unusual will occur during Peter and Harriet’s honeymoon in their new home. The title of the film on its US release, Haunted Honeymoon, is less explicit than the film’s UK title, perhaps the phrase is less well-known in the US. This is indicated more strongly in the subtitle to Sayers’ novel: ‘a love story with detective interruptions’. We can therefore anticipate that their married bliss (significantly they are on honeymoon – implying romance – rather than on holiday) will be interrupted by crime. Lord Peter Wimsey investigates crime and Harriet Vane writes detective novels. The similar term ‘Busman’s Holiday’ refers to a vacation spent performing similar tasks to one’s ‘day job’. ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’ suggests a mix of genres. We discussed the titles of the novel and the film. The two authors of the play nonetheless raise interesting questions about authorship which I return to towards the end of this post. There is also a practical reason: the play is far less known today, and more difficult to access, than the novel. This is partly because our theme for this term is adaptations of detective novels written by women. But we primarily discussed the film in relation to Sayers’ novel. The film credits both Dorothy L Sayers’ 1937 novel, Busman’s Honeymoon, and Sayers’ and Muriel St Clare Byrne’s 1936 play of the same name. Our discussion of Busman’s Honeymoon covered genre – especially different aspects of melodrama adaptation the notion of authorship and casting.
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