Mystery House 1938

Who will be the killer's next victim?

4.9 / 10   7 vote(s)
NR
Adventure Crime Mystery

When a banker is found shot dead with a gun in his hand, his daughter refuses to believe it is a suicide. With the help of a detective, she hopes to get to the bottom of the case.

Release Date 1938-05-21
Runtime 56m
Directors Noel M. Smith, L. William O'Connell, Chuck Hansen
Producers Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner
Writers Mignon G. Eberhart, Robertson White, Sherman L. Lowe

After dropping a bit of a bombshell at a family dinner, old man "Kingery" (Eric Stanley) retires to his study where he is promptly shot. The door is locked. The windows are locked. Suicide seems the only answer for the coroner but not for his daughter "Gwen" (Anna Nagel) who is convinced of foul play. She summons ace private investigator "O'Leary" (Dick Purcell) and together with his wily sidekick "Sarah" (Ann Sheridan) they have to piece together just what happened and who did what to whom? As he becomes more embroiled, he realises that there are motives a-plenty amongst this man's family and friends so his task won't be easy... This is all a bit too stage-bound to really get exciting, but it does move along quite quickly and the denouement allows Elspeth Dudgeon ("Aunt Lucy") to have some fun with a vase amidst a furniture fight. Forgettable B-list afternoon fodder but I quite enjoyed it for an hour.

CinemaSerf