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The Cinema Murder
Philip Romilly is a young art student, half-starved, both mentally and physically and without prospect. To escape his horrid existence, he embarks on a new career that leads him into a variety of problems that culminate with a startling and unexpected ending in New York.
198 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1917
41 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
E. Phillips Oppenheim
630 books80 followersEdward Phillips Oppenheim was an English novelist, primarily known for his suspense fiction.
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
He was born in Leicester, the son of a leather merchant, and after attending Wyggeston Grammar School he worked in his father's business for almost 20 years, beginning there at a young age. He continued working in the business, even though he was a successful novelist, until he was 40 at which point he sold the business.
He wrote his first book 'Expiation' in 1887 and in 1898 he published 'The Mysterious Mr Sabin', which he described as "The first of my long series of stories dealing with that shadowy and mysterious world of diplomacy." Thereafter he became a prolific writer and by 1900 he had had 14 novels published.
While on a business trip to the United States in 1890 he met and married Elise Clara Hopkins of Boston and, on return to England, they lived in Evington, Leicestershire until the First World War,and had one daughter. His wife remained faithful to him throughout his life despite his frequent and highly publicised affairs, which often took place abroad and aboard his luxury yacht.
During World War I Oppenheim worked for the Ministry of Information while continuing to write his suspenseful novels.
He featured on the cover of 'Time' magazine on 12 September 1927 and he was the self-styled 'Prince of Storytellers', a title used by Robert standish for his biography of the author.
His literary success enabled him to buy a villa in France and a yacht, spending his winters in France where he regularly entertained more than 250 people at his lavish parties and where he was a well-known figure in high society.
He later purchased a house, Le Vanquiédor in St. Peter Port, in Guernsey. He lost access to the house during the Second World War when Germany occupied the Channel Islands but later regained it.
He wrote 116 novels, mainly of the suspense and international intrigue type, but including romances, comedies, and parables of everyday life, and 39 volumes of short stories, all of which earned him vast sums of money. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonymn Anthony Partridge and a volume of autobiography, 'The Pool of Memory' in 1939.
He is generally regarded as the earliest writer of spy fiction as we know it today, and invented the 'Rogue Male' school of adventure thrillers that was later exploited by John Buchan and Geoffrey Household.
Undoubtedly his most renowned work was 'The Great Impersonation' (1920), which was filmed three times, the last time as a strong piece of wartime propaganda in 1942. In that novel the plot hinges around two very similar looking gentlemen, one from Britain and the other from Germany, in the early part of the 20th century. Overall more than 30 of his works were made into films.
Perhaps his most enduring creation is the character of General Besserley, the protagonist of 'General Besserley's Puzzle Box' and 'General Besserley's New Puzzle Box'.
Much of his work possesses a unique escapist charm, featuring protagonists who delight in Epicurean meals, surroundings of intense luxury, and the relaxed pursuit of criminal practice, on either side of the law.
Gerry Wolstenholme
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 20, 2023
An atmospheric opening reveals the main protagonist, Philip Romilly, making his way through a Derbyshire coal mining village, Detton Magna, to see a lady. Things do not turn out as he expected so he wanders disconsolately away.
This meeting is the catalyst for future events that are quite surprising and in due course he makes his way to New York to begin a new life under very different circumstances from his old one. He becomes successful in a new career but there are tensions from his previous life that cause undue stress.
He finds a new lady-love and things begin to look up until an episode from his past comes back to haunt him. And when someone from that past turns up in New York, matters take a decidedly unhealthy turn.
The story proceeds at an entertaining pace but underlying it all there is a strong suspicion that Philip's life may not pan out the way he imagines it. But despite the set backs and the introduction of a detective from England, a new arrival proves to be something of a godsend in a startling and most unexpected ending.
Without giving too much away, there is no cinema involved (I kept waiting for the characters to make their way to one … but in vain!) and as for murder … I will leave that to the reader. However the book is extremely well written, with the sights and smells of early New York being particularly well delineated, and the many incidents and twists and turns do keep the reader well involved throughout.
This meeting is the catalyst for future events that are quite surprising and in due course he makes his way to New York to begin a new life under very different circumstances from his old one. He becomes successful in a new career but there are tensions from his previous life that cause undue stress.
He finds a new lady-love and things begin to look up until an episode from his past comes back to haunt him. And when someone from that past turns up in New York, matters take a decidedly unhealthy turn.
The story proceeds at an entertaining pace but underlying it all there is a strong suspicion that Philip's life may not pan out the way he imagines it. But despite the set backs and the introduction of a detective from England, a new arrival proves to be something of a godsend in a startling and most unexpected ending.
Without giving too much away, there is no cinema involved (I kept waiting for the characters to make their way to one … but in vain!) and as for murder … I will leave that to the reader. However the book is extremely well written, with the sights and smells of early New York being particularly well delineated, and the many incidents and twists and turns do keep the reader well involved throughout.
December 8, 2014
I rated this highly because the writing is often extremely good--good enough to win me over despite an entirely-unsympathetic main character and his love interest. This is a novel of unpleasant people and suspense, where the reader can't quite bring themselves to root for the protagonist, but can't quite hope he'll be discovered, either. At its plainest, it's a book about greed and about secrets: what are you willing to do for the things you've dreamed of? And will you regret them? The twist ending was stunning and a little hard to believe, and I was disappointed that after all the work to get through the book, the denouement was so swift and brief. (less)
July 6, 2020
It was a pretty good story with a somewhat expected ending. It was not the author's best work; but then he wrote many books and he can't be expected to hit a homerun every time.
September 20, 2022
A killer taking the place of his victim is a solid idea for a thriller, but unfortunately the author mishandles it so badly here that the story ends up nothing more than a cliche ridden melodrama, the most bizarre aspect of which is that no one who knows of the crime - and it seems every other character is in on the secret - finds it in any way reprehensible or even noteworthy. And finally, the resolution is so preposterous that it's laughable. Oppenheim is actually a good imaginative writer, but no one reading this book would ever guess it.
October 29, 2010
This one is a little different from the other Oppenheim books I've read. No spies here, just a normal guy who loses it and does something that is terrible but seems to bring him everything he ever wanted (except a clear conscience). I liked how the complications kept piling up, and how all the time I was reading, in the back of my head was the the disturbing thought - 'this guy is a murderer, I shouldn't want him to succeed'. An easy read for a lazy afternoon.
February 1, 2012
Oppenheim was the author of the (imo) under-appreciated The Great Impersonation, which I believe deserves to be remade into a movie for the third time.
In the Cinema Murder, he is preoccupied as he was in Impersonation, with dual personality. Implausible as that might be in a movie - but incredibly tantalizing to a star - his schizoid heroes are outwardly guilty and guilty-acting, only secretly honorable, or just barely moral.
Soapy, I like that kind of thing.
In the Cinema Murder, he is preoccupied as he was in Impersonation, with dual personality. Implausible as that might be in a movie - but incredibly tantalizing to a star - his schizoid heroes are outwardly guilty and guilty-acting, only secretly honorable, or just barely moral.
Soapy, I like that kind of thing.
January 21, 2018
Se nota que fue escrito en el 1917: muy melodramático y Tutti frutti. Lo disfruté porque me mantuvo intrigado, pero el final es un asco. Mi personaje favorito lo fue Marta...perdón, la señorita Grimes. Este es un librito que deben llevar al cine y tomarse sus libertades artísticas y hacerlo más macabro. Lo disfruté pero NO lo recomiendo.
April 9, 2018
I did read this before, and I enjoyed reading it all over again. I think this book is a little different from Oppenheim's usual type, but it is just as mysterious and suspenseful. I love the way things turn out in the end!
November 21, 2014
I really enjoyed this one, although I'm not sure the title is entirely accurate -- perhaps it's tongue in cheek. Very well-written. Not impossible to put down, but a pleasure to pick up again.
October 4, 2025
‘The Cinema Murder’ (1917) is almost, but not quite, a reverse detective novel by E. Phillips Oppenheim, whose other novels usually run to romance and espionage. Stylistically, this might be ranked as one of Oppenheim's best novels, maintaining the note of suspense, tinted with a lingering horror for what is, for this author, a very long book. The thing is, the entire novel runs into a series of peaks and troughs, the whole ending in an anticlimax both unexpected and infuriating. Besides the fact that one actress, one producer, and one playwright feature here, there is no cinema murder. Interestingly, though, it was made into a silent film, which is now believed to be a lost film. Finally, the novel creates a moral dilemma for the players as well as for the reader. Fortunately or unfortunately, Oppenheim has made the main man here both a nincompoop and a scoundrel, so the reader is left to his own judgement
June 17, 2020
A very tidy little murder mystery that doesn’t take too long to get through. The author paints compelling pictures from the bleakness and filth of under class Midlands to the turmoil of New York. There are good characters and the central character interesting enough. The plot unravels tantalisingly enough. It’s almost got a shade of Ripley, though not quite the menace you get from Highsmith. I won’t spoil but I’ll just say the ending was a little too pat for me - I’d have liked something rather deeper.
March 13, 2018
No cinemas, no murder, just cheesy melodrama as only Oppenheim could write. If you find the going slow, just read the dialog.
October 10, 2018
Very intriguing read.
Kept me guessing until almost the end. Only one character I didn't care for and that was Beatrice and she was meant to be unlikable.
Kept me guessing until almost the end. Only one character I didn't care for and that was Beatrice and she was meant to be unlikable.
January 7, 2024
I listened to the audio book version and thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot was interesting and the writing wasn't stilted like so many other books of that era.
February 21, 2025
Nicely twisting plot. I like how the detective kept turning up. Kept me in suspense. It would have been cool to see a few scenes from Inspector Dane's POV.
October 7, 2010
Okay -- what a great and unexpected twist at the end! After the murder in England, and the protagonist assuming the ID of the victim to go to the US, his eventual success as a playwright, finding the girl of his dreams, having other women in his life, it all adds us to uncertainty -- esp with Detective Dane on his case. You would like this!
December 27, 2010
With colourful characters such as Elizabeth Dalton, Philip Romily and Sylvanus Power, this classic murder mystery truely captures 20th century English and American life, and culminates dramatically.....
August 22, 2014
The most misleading title ever! It has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. Instead of a murder mystery, all I got was a melodrama with various incidents and characters. The writing was good and eloquent and the ending fairly made up for the tiresome read.
June 4, 2012
Did not expect to like it so much, but I did. The writing is enjoyable and, what's more important, I could not predict the end for once. ;)
June 26, 2012
Book was interesting but the ending was absolutely terrible.
Want to read
August 7, 2014Read this book for free through Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10371...
September 25, 2012
Classic suspence. More than a Good Read -- It's a Great One~
July 19, 2014
What a shame that they don't write books like this any more!
February 10, 2015
I found it a little slow, but a good read.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews