The Dark Hour (1936)

Wonderful Movie

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

THE DARK HOUR is a pretty involved little murder mystery with a complex plotting, fast pace, and plenty of twists and turns in the narrative to keep you involved. It also features two different detectives, one a young and inexperienced P.I. and the other an elder and wiser chap, for your money.The story is about the murder of an old rich man and of course in such a situation there is no shortage of suspects in the cast. Another murder follows, and one of the methods is quite ingenious as is the way that the detectives finally solve it based on an entirely innocuous clue. Still, there are plenty of surprises here, and some warm performances from the chief actors to make it a likable viewing experience.

This film is a B-mystery from tiny Chesterfield Productions--one of many so-called 'Poverty Row' studios churning out extremely cheap and quickly made short films during the 1930s. It's only significant actor is Berton Churchill--a man who usually played blustering supporting roles (such as in "Stagecoach"). Here, however, he is co-lead in the film.The film begins with a woman going to talk to two detectives about her strange and rather nasty uncles. The two begin investigating and almost immediately a murder occurs--and one of the uncles is killed in a very peculiar manner (he was killed by gas and was stabbed AFTER he was already dead). The two detectives (one of which is Churchill) investigate the case almost like two Sherlock Holmes--which is a bit unusual, as in the mystery films of the era, usually the police are portrayed as idiots! How the murder occurred and who was behind it make this a VERY contrived film--and the ending offers too many twists to make the film realistic in any manner. Still, it's not a horrible film and is mildly entertaining--and is a film I'd recommend mostly to fans of these cheap murder mysteries. Others probably will be even less impressed by this one.

It is not often that Berton Churchill played leading roles, but this was one of those times. The film is populated with interesting people - Irene Ware, who was Miss United States 1926, Hedda Hopper, the renowned gossip columnist and the wonderful E.E. Clive. It is topped off with a pretty boring leading man in Ray Walker. Directed by Charles Lamont, who was responsible for Shirley Temples' Baby Burlesk shorts, this is a light hearted mystery from Chesterfield.Elsa (Irene Ware) is disturbed about her Uncle Henry and consults Paul Bernard (Berton Churchill). When Jim (Ray Walker) escorts Elsa home, her uncle comes to the door and abuses them both. Phrases such as "over my dead body" and "that can be arranged" come back to haunt the young detective when Elsa's uncle is found dead the next morning. Marion (Hedda Hopper), an aunt of Elsa's has moved to the village to look out for her - Marion also has no love for Henry.Everyone has a motive - the only one that seems genuinely upset is Henry's brother Charles (Hobart Bosworth). The cook sees a face at the window and Foote (E.E. Clive) is acting suspicious - "Foote seems strangely cocky!!!" They also are investigating a firebug - fires are breaking out at some of the brother's properties. Bernard finds a burnt dress in Elsa's cupboard but the size and the description of the woman running from the scene seem to implicate Aunt Marion. Then Foote is murdered!!!! The face at the window is explained as a fire victim - he had just seen his wife and child die in one of the fires and decided to come to Henry's house to have it out with him.Through a tired plot device (blankets under a quilt to imitate a sleeping person) Bernard finds the firebug and also tries to pin the murders on them as well. In a very entertaining way the murderer is found. It is quite an entertaining film and one that will while away an hour.

Chesterfield does it again--a tidy whodunit that, surprisingly, holds up pretty well despite its age. The race between the two detectives is quite droll and interesting; it shows, once again, that the fundamental lesson of integration between the old and the new still applies--regardless of decade and/or century. Of course, as the film was lensed nearly 70 years ago, some of the technical aspects of the plot do not age well. And, unless I missed something, I would have preferred a little more detail into the motive for the crime. Despite these minor quibbles, it was a relatively enjoyable 71 minutes, especially when Hedda Hopper was chewing up the scenery.l