A Very English Murder is a 1974 Soviet teleplay directed by Samson Samsonov, based on the 1951 novel An English Murder by Cyril Hare.

Plot

The film is set in the United Kingdom, within the walls of Lord Thomas Warbeck's ancestral castle near Chatham, where he gathers family and friends for what he knows will be his final Christmas. Gravely ill and given only until Christmas Eve to live, the aging lord wishes to savor one last moment of familial unity, but beneath the festive veneer lies a web of animosity and unresolved tensions. His son and sole heir, Robert Warbeck, a fervent leader of a radical youth movement, shares open hostility with his cousin, Sir Julius Warbeck, a prominent politician and Her Majesty’s Minister of Finance. The guest list includes Mrs. Carstairs, the wife of the Minister's assistant; Lady Camilla Prendergast, who grew up alongside Robert; and the pastor's daughter, a lifelong friend of the Warbeck family. Among the long-term residents of the castle are Dr. Bottwink, a European émigré historian studying the Warbeck archives, and the loyal butler Briggs, who struggles to prevent his daughter Susannah from making an outburst that might disrupt the gathering. Despite Lord Warbeck’s desire for a peaceful celebration, the strained relationships among the attendees create an atmosphere of quiet unease.