one of the biggest stars in British films, signed to co-star and Marc Allégret was to direct. Shooting Filming started in January 1947 at Pinewood Studios. The courtroom scenes were filmed in the Shire Hall at Stafford. The location scenes for the film were shot at Wootton Lodge (which stood in for the Clare Hall of the story), a magnificent three-storey Georgian mansion at Upper Ellastone on the Derbyshire–Staffordshire border and on the surrounding Weaver Hills, as well as on Dunstable Downs, Bedfordshire. Granger later said the film "was a silly story, too grim and melodramatic, but it's a wonderful looking film... I enjoyed working with Valerie Hobson, but the film didn't work." Havelock-Allan later said he felt the most exciting aspect of the story was the murder being committed by a "gypsy woman" who was actually a man. However, he says: "Stewart Granger refused to play it dressed as a woman, even though you would only have seen a flash of him, so it lost that high point scene." This film marks the first film appearance of Gough, probably best known for portraying Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth in Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The stately home used in the exterior shots is Wootton Lodge in Staffordshire. Reception Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1948. By the end of 1949, it managed to earn £200,500 in box office rentals in the British Isles. However, it was not enough to recoup the film's cost and it recorded a loss of £135,400 (equivalent to £ in ). Havelock-Allan later acknowledged the film was a disappointment:We took far too long over Blanche Fury, it cost too much money and it didn't 'work' and never attracted any great audience. David and Ronnie didn't like what I was trying to do with Blanche Fury, which was along the lines of the very successful costume films from Gainsborough. I wanted to make a serious one with a better story and I thought it would make a lot of money. I found out what I was making was a 'hard' film, not a 'soft' film which the others were. There was a real hatred in it as well as love, and the public didn't want it. Cineguild more or less broke up over that. References External links 1940s mystery drama films 1948 films British drama