James Hadley Chase
Writer · Died February 6, 1985, aged 78 · London, England, UK
James Hadley Chase (24 December 1906 – 6 February 1985) was an English writer. While his birth name was René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, he was well known by his various pseudonyms, including James Hadley Chase, James L. Docherty, Raymond Marshall, R. Raymond, and Ambrose Grant. He was one of the best known thriller writers of all time. The canon of Chase, comprising 90 titles, earned him a reputation as the king of thriller writers in Europe. He was also one of the internationally best-selling authors, and to date 50 of his books have been made into films. René Lodge Brabazon Raymond (James Hadley Chase) was born on 24 December 1906 in London, England. He was the son of Colonel Francis Raymond of the colonial Indian Army, a veterinary surgeon. His father intended his son to have a scientific career and had him educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. Chase left home at the age of 18. In 1932, Chase married Sylvia Ray, and they had a son. In 1956, they moved to France. In 1969, they moved to Switzerland, living a secluded life in Corseaux-sur-Vevey, on Lake Geneva. Chase died there on 6 February 1985. During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. He edited the RAF journal with David Langdon and had several stories from it published after the war in the book Slipstream: A Royal Air Force Anthology. After Chase left home at the age of 18, he worked in sales, primarily focusing on books and literature. He sold children's encyclopaedias, while also working in a bookshop. He also served as an executive for a book wholesaler, before turning to a writing career that produced more than 90 mystery books. His interests included photography, of a professional standard, reading, and listening to classical music and opera. As a form of relaxation between novels, he put together highly complicated and sophisticated Meccano models. Prohibition and the ensuing Great Depression in the US (1929–39) had given rise to the Chicago gangster culture prior to World War II. This, combined with Chase's book trade experience, convinced him that there was a big demand for gangster stories. After reading James M. Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), and having read about the American gangster Ma Barker and her sons, and with the help of maps and a slang dictionary, he wrote No Orchids for Miss Blandish in his spare time, he claimed over a period of six weekends, though his papers suggest it took longer. The book achieved remarkable notoriety and became one of the best-selling books of the decade. It was the subject of the 1944 essay "Raffles and Miss Blandish" by George Orwell. Chase and Robert Nesbitt adapted it to a stage play of the same name which ran in London's West End to good reviews. The 1948 film adaptation was widely denounced as salacious due to the film's portrayal of violence and sexuality. Robert Aldrich did a remake, The Grissom Gang, in 1971. ... Source: Article "James Hadley Chase" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- December 24, 1906
- February 6, 1985 (aged 78)
- London, England, UK
- Writer
- 15 on MovieCove · 57 credits in all
What are James Hadley Chase's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 2 · Earnest 11
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 4 · Dark 7
Grounded 5 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 4
Gentle 3 · Charged 7 · Intense 5
Steady 5 · Shifting 8 · Whiplash 2
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 1
Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 2
A split, not a type: Easy watch 6 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 6
A split, not a type: Resolved 8 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet3
- Tragic4
- Ambiguous5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch James Hadley Chase's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (4).
Subscription and free streaming for James Hadley Chase's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
57 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Eva(2018)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Palmetto(1998)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Rough Magic(1995)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
The Set Up(1995)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Requiem per voce e pianoforte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Casino (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Sniper (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
He Will Receive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
The Bay of Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
The Vulture Is a Patient Bird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Mais qui arrêtera la pluie ? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Believed Violent (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Want to Stay Alive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Have a Nice Night(1990)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Try This One for Size(1989)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Cambiamento d'aria (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
Assicurazione sulla morte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Rigged (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Série noire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Mirage (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Patto con la morte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Zlaté rybicky(1979)
Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)Pracka v láhvi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Crime and Passion(1975)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
The Catamount Killing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Flesh of the Orchid(1975)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
Not Dumb, the Bird (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Too Small My Friend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Grissom Gang(1971)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
A Little Virtuous (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Woman Is a Stranger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Blonde from Peking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Lotosblüten für Miss Quon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Die Katze im Sack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Dead End (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Coffin from Hong Kong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Mark of the Tortoise (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Mission to Venice (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Highway Pick-Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
The Cobweb (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
A Blonde Like That (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Eva(1962)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
In the Mouth of the Wolf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
An einem Freitag um halb zwölf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Take Me As I Am (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
It Only Happens to the Living (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Hit and Run (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
A Kiss for a Killer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
There's Always a Price Tag (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Young Girls Beware (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
The Man in the Raincoat(1957)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
The Last Page (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
I'll Get You for This (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 57 titles from 1948 to 2018.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do James Hadley Chase's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 37th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 40th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th7
- Below 25th4
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 15 titles are Mixed.
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser4
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed6
Reviewers score the dialogue 44/100 and the plot and story 38/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does James Hadley Chase work with?
People who share at least 2 of James Hadley Chase's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sergio Gobbi shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Sergio GobbiShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989), The Flesh of the Orchid (1975)See all 3 shared titles with Sergio Gobbi
- Alec MedieffShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Alec Medieff
Actors
- Guy MarchandShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Guy Marchand
- Michael BrandonShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Brandon
- Stéphane BonnetShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Stéphane Bonnet
- Valérie SteffenShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Valérie Steffen
Composers and cinematographers
- Claude BollingShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Claude Bolling
- Jean-Yves Le MenerShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Jean-Yves Le Mener
- Henri DecaëShared titles: The Night of the Generals (1967), Eva (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Henri Decaë
Producers
- Jean-Bernard FetouxShared titles: Have a Nice Night (1990), Try This One for Size (1989)See all 2 shared titles with Jean-Bernard Fetoux