The Franchise Affair (film)

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "'The story is remotely based on the famous eighteenth century disappearance of Elizabeth Canning, and is a quite ingenious modernized version of this mystery. The script, adapted from a novel, tends to show its literary origins rather too clearly, particularly in dialogue, and is somewhat scrappily and haphazardly constructed. As a whole, the film needs more force and control both in direction and playing, but the material has sufficient interest to hold the attention to the end."^[4]

The New York Times wrote, "a great many words are spoken and a great deal of tea is consumed in a low-budget British picture, "The Franchise Affair," which made a bedraggled appearance at the Little Carnegie yesterday. And, as may be readily imagined, the sum total of it all is an hour and a half of sheer boredom, unrelieved by any action or surprise."^[5]

Sky Movies wrote, "a neat, well-constructed whodunit – or, rather, was-it-done? – graced by good performances – it was one of several films husband-and-wife team Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray made together – and a leisurely but literate script. Although modest in ambition, the film sustains its drama throughout and there are some fine moments of spicy, English upper-crust wit. Its courtroom scenes also bring a welcome relief from the Perry Mason style of histrionics. Star-spotters can't miss Kenneth More in a small role."^[6]

In The Radio Times Guide to Films David Parkinson gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "The presence of postwar British cinema's golden couple, Michael Denison and Dulcie Gray, deprives this tale of superstition and recrimination of much of its suspense. As one of the women accused of kidnap and torture by the hysterical Ann Stephens, Gray fails to generate sufficient ambiguity, while lawyer Denison's decency lacks the indignation that might have injected some much-needed impetus."^[7]

• The Franchise Affair at IMDb