The Mystery of Mr E

At Idlewild house Harriet Landrigan wrote the world's most successful romantic novels. One day she tells her lifelong publisher that she will continue to write the books but none can ever be published, even read. She later mysteriously dies in a terrible accident. Sometime later Harriet's brother Martin invited the famous Danes brothers, who call themselves 'The Generalists' to Idlewild. Before they go they get a strange visit from a Mr E who tells them he knows they're going to Idlewild and that he is a murderer. Soon after they arrive a guest at the house is indeed murdered - can The Generalists solve the crime.

Apparently this was originally a school play and indeed much of it seems to still be being staged there - this has no cinematic pretensions whatsoever. Whilst it does from certain angles possess a degree of childlike charm on the whole it is pretty feeble stuff. Most of the endless exposition is pretty much all sung (badly) and the whodunnit resolutions uncovering the deaths and Mr E's involvement are entirely underwhelming. You could cope with the cast not being able to sing, but acting seems to present a similar challenge and in fact only Nicola Wright seems capable of doing both. Quirky certainly and with some little charm but mostly not good.