A late 20s talkie produced and directed by Tod Browning starring Bela Lugosi as an inspector who must unravel a double murder plot at a grand mansion with a cache of suspects including an old supposed medium, the medium's daughter, and several dinner guests conducting a seance...this should be such a KA-CHING for me. Sadly, it is a lot of talk with no atmosphere. It drones on and on, very much a stage place before a camera, Browning conducting this grand mystery very much as theater. I think this is very much of its time. Granted, I LOVE "Dracula" (1931), just two years after this, and it has its share of lots and lots of talking. But that had atmosphere in spades. This puts folks in a room, as they take questions and more questions from Lugosi, who refuses to let up until he catches the person responsible for the first murder--never seen as the film introduces us to the second victim investigating the area where a dried blood pool indicates a murder not long ago--and ties that to the second. The first one murdered was a womanizing, sleazy scoundrel, and a madame is called in to try and determine the killer. I assumed she'd be the one stabbed but its actually the man very involved in getting to the truth of the matter. Lugosi eventually does pull a fast one with clever help from the madame, looking to whatever help she can (including prayer) to rescue her daughter from arrest. I still thoroughly enjoy discovering an early Lugosi performance prior to becoming an immortal legend as Dracula. He sure is like a dog after that bone...he's gruff, tough, assertive, and rattles nerves. I do think this is worth looking into if you are interested in early Lugosi, before he was wrung of his youth and vigor by Hollywood. 2.5/5
Comments
Post a Comment