This week’s mystery movie has been the 1945 Ealing Studios film “Dead of Night,” a supernatural thriller consisting of five separate stories and a sixth story that ties them together. Robert Osborne mentioned it recently in introducing “Went the Day Well?” and fortunately I had a copy in the archives thanks to my binge recording of (almost) everything on TCM before 1960.

The film opened in Los Angeles at the Four Star Theater in August 1946.

The Times’ Edwin Schallert said:

The picture will prove intriguing for those who are willing to “reach” for its purport and plot. However, it will perhaps have only an indifferent appeal for most audiences, unless they are caught by what might be termed its uniqueness….

In many ways, the feature carries less impact than the fine “March of Time” on atomic power, and the John Nesbitt “Passing Parade” about inventions that were due to hunches or accidents.

“Dead of Night” stars Mervyn Johns, Roland Culver, Frederick Valk, with Mary Merrall, Renee Gadd, Judy Kelly, Antony Baird, Miles Malleson, Robert Wyndham, Sally Ann Howes, Michael Allan, Googie Withers, Ralph Michael, Esme Percy,  Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, Peggy Bryan, Michael Redgrave, Hartley Power, Elisabeth Welch, Garry Marsh, Magda Kun and Allan Jeayes.

It was written by John Baines and Angus MacPhail with additional dialogue by T.E.B. Clarke, based on original stories by H.G. Wells, E.F. Benson, John Baines and Angus MacPhail. Music was by Georges Auric.  The film’s segments  were directed by Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer.

“Dead of Night” is available on DVD from Amazon (U.S.) paired with “Queen of Spades”  or in a Region 2 DVD from Amazon UK at a better price.

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This week’s mystery movie was the 1936 MGM picture “Small Town Girl,” starring Janet Gaynor and Robert Taylor. It featured Binnie Barnes, Andy Devine, Lewis Stone, Elizabeth Patterson, Frank Craven and James Stewart. It was directed by William A. Wellman,  with a script by John Lee Mahin, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Edith Fitzgerald from the book by Ben Ames Williams.

I chose it because I wanted to do a film edited by Blanche Sewell and most of her films are too well known to be a mystery movie.

Portions of the film were shot on the Monterey Peninsula and the crew set up its headquarters at Carmel, according to the Los Angeles Times. It opened in Los Angeles at Loew’s State and Grauman’s Chinese theaters on April 24, 1936, on a bill with “Charlie Chan at the Circus.” Edwin Schallert  of The Timesc alled it one of Gaynor’s best pictures.

MGM’s 1953 remake with Farley Granger and  Jane Powell is available on DVD. The 1936 version is not, as far as I can tell.

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1944 Warner Bros. picture “The Conspirators,” with Hedy Lamarr and Paul Henreid (Friday’s mystery guests), Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre (Friday’s mystery guests), Victor Francen, Joseph Calleia (Thursday’s mystery guest), Carol Thurston, Vladimir Sokoloff, Edward Ciannelli, Steven Garay (Thursday’s mystery guest) and Kurt Katch (Wednesday’s mystery guest). The screenplay was by Vladimir Pozner and Leo Rosten with additional dialogue by Jack Moffitt, based on a novel by Fredric Prokosch. The music was by Max Steiner. Directed by former mystery guest Jean Negulesco.

There were lots of interesting guesses on this film. Several people guessed “Mask of Dimitrios” which holds a special place in my heart because it was the first movie I stayed up all night to see when WGN in Chicago started running movies all night on the weekends in the early 1960s. But far too easy for the brain trust. “Gilda” was another popular guess. But again, too easy for the brain trust.

The DVD is available from TCM or for a few dollars less from Warner Archive. Continue reading →

This week’s mystery production was the 1961 “Perry Mason” episode “The Case of the Envious Editor,” which deals with the publisher (James Coburn) of a magazine company who tries to boost its declining circulation by pandering to the lowest common denominator with sexually oriented material. And things go horribly wrong – at least for him.

“The Case of the Envious Editor” was directed by Laslo Benedek and written by Milton Krims. The story consultant was Jackson Gillis.  It starred series regulars Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper and Ray Collins, and guests Philip Abbott, James H. Coburn, Paul Lambert, H.M. Wynant, Barbara Lawrence, Jennifer Howard, Vinton Hayworth, Sara Shane, S. John Launer, Sid Tomack, Dave Willock, Jim Drum, Virginia Carroll, Paul Power, Donna Hayes, Harry Hollins and (although I looked for him in vain) George E. Stone.  Director of photography was Frank Redman and art direction was by Robert G. Stone.

No more pictures of missiles! “Women’s Viewpoint will deal frankly with sex from the point of view of the woman….”

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This week’s mystery movie has been the 1928 MGM film “Across to Singapore,” starring Ramon Novarro (Thursday’s mystery guest), Joan Crawford (Friday’s mystery guest) and Ernest Torrence (Monday’s mystery guest).

The film was based on the 1919 novel “All the Brothers Were Valiant” by Ben Ames Williams and adapted by Ted Shane. Settings were by Cedric Gibbons, wardrobe by David Cox, photography by John Seitz and editing by Ben Lewis. It was directed by William Nigh. The cast also included Frank Currier (Tuesday’s mystery guest), Dan Wolhelm, Duke Martin, Edward Connelly and James Mason (no, not that James Mason).

The Los Angeles opening at Loew’s State in April 1928 featured the Fanchon and Marco girls diving into what the Los Angeles Times described as a huge glass tank. Times film critic Marquis Busby  said of Crawford:  “unless I am badly mistaken Joan does the best work of her career.” Busby died in Los Angeles in 1934 at the age of 31.

As I noted earlier, this week’s mystery person was cinematographer John Seitz, who gave us “Double Indemnity,” “Lost Weekend,” “Sunset Boulevard,” “Five Graves to Cairo,” “This Gun for Hire” and  “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek,” among many other film classics.  If anyone at TCM is reading this, how about a birthday tribute on June 23?

The film is available from Warner Archive, as is the 1953 MGM remake, “All the Brothers Were Valiant,” with Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger and Ann Blyth. “Across to Singapore” was itself a remake of “All the Brothers Were Valiant,” a 1923 Metro picture with Lon Chaney, Malcolm McGregor and Billie Dove, which Busby called “one of the best sea pictures ever made.”

Images of the badly damaged 1923 “All the Brothers Were Valiant” here.

Williams’ novel is available at Archive.org.

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