Melodrama never gets old, and one of the most popular was George M. Cohan's old chestnut which had at least seven versions by the time this was done, including one done for T.V. the previous year.
Mixing the spooky plot with comedy, this isn't anything new, but it is still a lot of fun and technically superior to the first two sound versions that I have seen. Yet, the melodrama was much more effective in the earlier sound versions, particularly the creaky 1929 version.
A cast of B leads and popular character performers make this an acceptable variation, particularly Jimmy Conlin as the hermit and Eduardo Cianelli as a villainous looking intruder. Philip Terry, a B leading actor once married to Jian Crawford and Jacqueline White are perfectly acceptable leads, while former Warner Brothers leading lady Margaret Linday makes an interesting femme fatale.
Mixing the spooky plot with comedy, this isn't anything new, but it is still a lot of fun and technically superior to the first two sound versions that I have seen. Yet, the melodrama was much more effective in the earlier sound versions, particularly the creaky 1929 version.
A cast of B leads and popular character performers make this an acceptable variation, particularly Jimmy Conlin as the hermit and Eduardo Cianelli as a villainous looking intruder. Philip Terry, a B leading actor once married to Jian Crawford and Jacqueline White are perfectly acceptable leads, while former Warner Brothers leading lady Margaret Linday makes an interesting femme fatale.