One Frightened Night (1935)

Thanks for the memories!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

A humorous whodunit with Charley Grapewin as the wisecracking patriarch, Toomey, Hedda Hopper, and Evalyn Knapp in a supporting role (as the impersonator of the prodigal granddaughter), directed by Christy Cabanne. Fred Kelsey plays the sheriff.It's a Mascot movie from '35 (I would of supposed a later year).Good score.There's a more ambitious scene, that of the granddaughter's fright, when she leaves the trophies room, a dart is blown, etc.. Some of the elements, like the scary mask, or the secrets of people's lives, will return in a later movie of Cabanne, one with Lugosi.Structurally, there are a few resemblances with a movie made by the same mindless director, with Lugosi, the one I already alluded to: a magician, a physician, a mask.Another resemblance may be the slightly ambiguous relation of an oldster (the naughty tycoon here, the creepy physician in the later movie) with a young woman; here, allowed for the familial quirk. Perhaps also the goofy joviality.

This movie is almost two different films in one. The first half sets up the plot, and is a bit stiff. Something curious happens in the opening dinner scene. There's a lightning strike, and the lights go out. Then they go back on. Then in the next shot, they're out again. And then on. it's never clear what's going on with the lights, but they come back on for the rest of the movie. Odd.The movie is about a rich, crotchety old man and the dispersal of his fortune. Once the premise is set up and the murder occurs, a bumbling detective (Fred Kelsey, from multiple Three Stooges shorts) shows up and the film gradually shifts into an old house/mystery/comedy, with strange, masked figures chased through the house, screaming women and dramatic music. The change certainly wakes up the film, and is quite entertaining.If you like this genre and you stick with it, the movie pays off pretty good. It's not great cinema, but worth watching after the lights go out.

Wonderful cast in the extreme, very good directing, fine soundtrack, exceptionally well done photography, well scripted, with some nice plot twists and turns. Again ... Classic all the way. Best part? The cast. Worst part? The continuity could have used some tweaking here and there. I mean, when you dash in out of a rain storm, well, you ought to be wet. Down side? None. Difficult to figure out? Well, not really. You can pretty much do that ten minutes into the movie. At least I did. But there are twists enough to keep you doubting. It takes both thought and perseverance. Keep track of who is where and who does what. The fun comes in when you realize that certain characters obviously find it, they think, as clear cut as you do. That is ... IF you do. And if you do ... Then you get to set back, relax and watch the cops try to figure it out while essentially being lead around by the hand by those ( like you ) who know. If you don't? Hey, hang in there. How close is it to being a real 10? If the girl's coat had been wet when she came in out of the rain? I'd have given it a 10. And thats just about as close it gets.

Jasper Whyte calls all of his associates and friends (few in number) to his house (on a night with plenty of rain, thunder, and lightning) to give away all of his estate before an inheritance tax would lessen the amount. One million dollars is to be given to relative Tom Dean, maid Elvira, Dr. Denham, lawyer Felix, and another relative, Laura Proctor (and her husband Arthur). When Felix arrives at the mansion, he brings a woman who claims to be Doris Waverly, Whyte's long lost granddaughter. Seeing his only true heir, Whyte decides to give all of his money to her, which obviously ticks off all the others. Things however become more complicated when another woman comes to the mansion claiming to be Doris Waverly (arriving with her vaudeville partner, the Great Lavelle- a magician). Whyte asks the two woman to confront each other, but the first Doris is found murdered in her room. Whyte and Dean send for the police in order to find out who the first woman was and who had her killed, and Doris (the second and real one) must be able to survive until midnight when she gets her inheritance. Very good "Old Dark House" type mystery, with a lot of similarities to The Cat and the Canary, with the young woman inheriting everything while all other members are shut out. Grapewin (as Whyte) and Ford (as Lavelle) play their roles to the hilt which helps the movie and the rest of the cast give adequate performances. Cabanne's direction and the rest of the production crew are able to maintain the mystery and suspense quite well, but its nothing to go ape over. Rating, 7.