Murder on the Home Front (2013)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Better Late Then Never

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

In 1940, in London, a prostitute is found dead in her room in a boarding house with a swastika carved on her tongue. The rookie pathologist Dr Lennox Collins (Patrick Kennedy) is summoned by Detective Freddie Wilkins (David Sturzaker) to investigate the crime scene. They meet the snoopy journalist and aspiring writer Molly Cooper (Tamzin Merchant) in the spot and Lennox invites her to be his assistant. Then they interview the Anglo-German Wilfred Zeigler (John Heffernan), who found the body and collect cards of women photos. After the autopsy, they discover that the woman had gone to the Metropol night-club and they decide to visit the place with Wilkins. Three men do not have alibi and become suspects. When two other women are murdered in the same modus operandi, Wilkins accuses Zeigler with circumstantial evidences only. When the gay actor Ronald Terry (John Bowe) is found dead apparently after committing suicide, Lennox and Molly believe the murders are connected. Lennox is not convinced that Zeigler is the serial-killer and proceeds with his investigation. Who might have killed the women and the actor? "Murder on the Home Front" is a promising TV Movie about murders in wartime that could have been better and better. The odd story is interesting but the rushed conclusion is not satisfactory and disappoints. The chemistry between Patrick Kennedy and Tamzin Merchant is worthwhile watching with funny moments and dialogues. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Assassinatos em Tempo de Guerra" ("Murders in Wartime")

"Murder at the Home Front" is based on the memoirs of Molly Lefebure, secretary to pathologist Dr Keith Simpson (the pathologist) during WW II. She was the first woman to work in a mortuary, and known by Scotland Yard as "Miss Molly."During the London blitz, Dr. Lennox Collins (Patrick Kennedy) is assigned to do an autopsy on a prostitute who was strangled and a swastika carved on her tongue. Merchant is Molly Cooper, a reporter who becomes Collins' assistant.The chief suspect is a German, Wilfred Ziegler, who discovered the body. However, he is left-handed and the killer was right-handed.The trail leads to a club, the Metropole, where Mary spent a lot of time. Molly goes there and meets the club's owner, Danny.Two more women are murdered, and a gay actor, Ronald Terry, is put at the scene. Then Terry commits suicide, it seems, though after Lennox and Molly investigate, it turns out to be murder.Ziegler confesses and is sentenced to be hanged, though Collins is not convinced. He begins to suspect a conspiracy - at the very top. This film took a few hits from reviewers here, possibly because people were expecting more, along the lines of Foyle's War. Well, Foyle's War has no peers as far as I'm concerned. This was okay, not as terrible as described.The character of Lennox Collins (Patrick Kennedy) is based on a famous pathologist, Keith Simpson, a pioneer in the field, who solved many murder case. Kennedy gives a solid and probably a realistic performance of a dedicated doctor. If it wasn't the most exciting thing you've ever seen, I imagine he was going for an accurate approach.I didn't think Tazmin Merchant was so bad - compared to whom? The actors on Beverly Hills 90210? She was fine, and as far as no chemistry with Dr. Collins, I thought the scene at the end had plenty of chemistry and was lovely.I will concede there were some silly choices made, such as a lit street during the blackout and a certain amount of predictability.It looks like this was supposed to be a series, as there is one listed on IMDb.

Don't believe the reviews posted by the media snobs, this show is fun to watch, well done and is period accurate. The only thing that is stretched a bit is the sophistication of the forensic knowledge, but it's easy to overlook.If you're into rock-em, sock-em action then this is not the show for you. It mostly appeals to those who are accustomed to the pace of British shows and their propensity toward utilizing the English language rather than smacking you across the head with the obvious in the form of splashing, flashing video imagery.I loved this show, and I hope there are more in our future.

This an odd sort of film. There is nothing specially good about it. The acting, the production, the effects and even the plot are all somewhat mediocre. Yet it has its moments. Setting a Jack The Ripper sort of story against the London blitz is unique in itself. But the intriguing aspect is that they have combined some pretty gory scenes with an offbeat sort of humour. I'm not sure whether it's a war movie, a murder mystery or a comedy. Maybe a bit of each. Not a great film by any means. Yet it's something different and we enjoyed it. Was this perhaps inspired by Foyle's War? It also had the look of a pilot for a planned TV series that never happened.