Midnight Faces (1926) User Reviews

Yet another old dark house movie....

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 5 May 2010]

In the 1920s through the 1930s, Hollywood made quite a few old dark house movies--ones which have very, very similar plots involving a group of people stuck in a place with some maniacs. In light of this, "Midnight Faces" already has a major strike against against it. Just a few similar films would include "The Old Dark House", "The Cat and The Canary". "The Bat", "The Black Cat", "The Bat Whispers" and even comedies such as Harry Langdon in "The First Hundred Years", Buster Keaton in "The Haunted House" and Bob Hope in "Ghost Breakers"--and I'm sure I could come up with quite a few others if I tried!

This film finds out hero inheriting an old estate in Florida. However, when he, his friend and his black man-servant (thrown in for comic relief) near the home, they think they see something moving inside. Once they take possession, some of the dead uncle's old servants arrive and they are a bizarre assortment of stereotypes--including a supposed Chinese man who look like he's just walked off a Fu Manchu film set! At night, trouble erupts and it's up to the leading man and his friends to get to the bottom of it. Much of it didn't make much sense until the very end--when the long and complicated plot is explained--including what REALLY happened to the uncle. There were a few surprises but all in all, the movie seemed terribly derivative--just like the many other similar films I've seen. It's pleasant enough but nothing special.

By the way, one sour note in the film is the black servant. While he didn't over-react as badly as some black men in these films did, all too often they were included as a cheap laugh. Back then, white folks though it was hilarious to see a black man act cowardly and scared in these films. This role, like most of the films listed above, was present in this film but fortunately his performance wasn't as over the top or offensive as most--but it still wasn't necessary.

Silly Subject Matter For A Silly Film

[rsoonsa · 2/10 · 27 July 2001]

This melodrama finds itself changing in tone throughout, from mystery to comedy to romance to horror, and fails on all counts to produce a reasonable degree of entertainment. Set in, on and about a deserted house in Florida's Bayou region, the plot involves inheritance of the house by Lynn Claymore, (Francis X Bushman, Jr.) from an uncle of whom he was unaware and his arrival at the property to take possession, while having to deal with a hotchpotch of odd characters, each of whom presents an unknown agenda. These include a damsel in apparent distress, played by Kathryn McGuire, a favorite leading lady of Buster Keaton, a lawyer, a Chinaman, a negro valet, a united and sinister butler and housekeeper, a paralytic gentleman, and others. In addition, the influence of a cloaked individual must be mentioned, as he is continually skulking about, disappearing into secret passages, and generally making the rest of the cast quite uneasy. The valet is played by Martin Turner who must have influenced Eddie (Rochester) Anderson's style, as the latter's mannerisms are virtually interchangeable with those of the whimsical Turner, upon whose scenes one becomes increasingly willing to invest attention, as they are a welcome shift from the preposterous and cliche-beholden script. The editing is indifferent at best, with some scenes being switched in continuity, and the direction by Bennett Cohen is by the numbers. Those minutes when Bushman, and Jack Perrin as the probate lawyer, are alone and in conversation are effective due to their relaxed rapport and, if there were more of such, the grotesquerie would have been more palatable. The film includes a most quaint fight sequence with the large and athletic Bushman having an extraordinarily difficult time in subduing a somewhat unprepossessing rival, with the action, because of odd editing, continuing for about 20 minutes, while the other players remain determined to go about their business. The engagingly original and motific score is played in witty fashion at the Wurlitzer by the talented Rosa Rio, who began her career in the 1920s in large theatres about New York and who achieved widespread and national acclaim for her musicality as accompanist to silent cinema. Her contribution and the efforts by Turner are not enough aid in suppressing feelings of ennui for most viewers of this cartoonish mishmash.

Terrible early Old Dark House mystery comedy...

[AlsExGal · 3/10 · 28 May 2023]

...from the long-forgotten Goodwill Productions company. Francis X. Bushman Jr. Stars Lynn Claymore, a nice young fellow who has inherited a large mansion in Florida swamp country. He arrives to take up residence with his attorney Richard (Jack Perrin), and his servant Trohelius Snapp (Martin Turner). Of course, it isn't long before a group of strangers show up, strange things start happening, people start disappearing, and a caped figure begins lurking in the shadows.

Cheap, dumb, and often ridiculous, this is a complete waste of time for all but the most ardent of horror/mystery completists. The plot makes little sense, and although it's less than an hour long, that's still too much.

Only of Historical Interest

[Athanatos · 2/10 · 4 July 2007]

Badly written and badly directed, this film is only of historical interest, perhaps as an early example of the Old Dark House genre, or of the racial stereotyping of blacks as fearful, as superstitious, and as otherwise stupid. (There is also a stereotypical Chinaman in this movie.) There is relatively little story here: A Young Man has been informed by a Lawyer that the Young Man is an heir to an estate that includes an Old Dark House. He and various persons arrive, for various reasons yet all on the same day, for his first night there. One of them is a Young Woman who is subsequently menaced by a Cloaked Figure who makes use of secret passages within and to the house. Eventually the Cloaked Figure seizes the Young Woman, and he is pursued. During this pursuit and the fight that erupts, the respective roles of the other characters are revealed.

The internal logic of the story fails repeatedly. For example, early in the story the audience sees the Cloaked Figure climbing in and out of windows of the Old Dark House, but there doesn't seem to have been a good reason at that point for him not to have simply used the hallways within the house. The Cloaked Figure has, as it turns out, a good reason to menace the Young Woman; but he also menaces the Black Servant for no good reason. Twice the Young Man responds to cries for help as if wondering just what "Help!" might mean. His initial response to the Cloaked Figure is as if such things are merely a nuisance to be expected in one's home. After the Cloaked Figure has seized the Young Woman, it eventually dawns on the Young Man that her situation might be urgent, but his subsequent search for her is rather desultory, and includes a pause during which he and another white fellow mock the Black Servant as a foolish braggart. None of the ostensible Good Guys are inclined to dash when they could walk briskly, and one is lucky if they do even that. During the final conflict between the Young Man and the Cloaked figure, the other Good Guys essentially mill-about, as if having joined the audience (albeit with a greater level of interest than the audience must now feel).

A quickie of some interest

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 2 November 2006]

A quickie of some interest, despite (or maybe because) of its similarity to both The Bat (a sensational success on the Broadway stage when it debuted in 1920 and ran for a colossal 878 performances at the Morosco) and The Cat and the Canary, an obvious imitator which opened on Broadway in 1922 and ran for 349 performances at the National. Perhaps even more to the point, the much publicized film version of The Bat had its New York premiere on 14 March 1926. And just eleven days later, Midnight Faces made its appearance. Co-incidence? Hardly.

Midnight Faces has all the standard ingredients of the creepy old house horror mystery, including clutching hands from a shadowy cloaked assassin who uses secret passages to make his escapes, a frightened heroine, stalwart hero, personable friend and comic butler. The house is sufficiently large and cavernously gloomy to lend color to the proceedings, and the pace is nothing if not brisk. It's good to see a young Jack Perrin in civvies as the ingratiating friend, while an equally youthful Bushman alertly holds down the role of the hero. Cohn (or Cohen, he was never quite sure how to spell his name) has directed with reasonable flair, though film editor Fred Bain has obviously had his work cut out to paper over some slips in continuity.

Early attempt at spooky mansion

[Johan_Wondering_on_Waves · 2/10 · 25 April 2015]

Indeed an early attempt at a spooky or haunted house movie but a really abominable one. With a running time around 55 minutes this still felt pretty long. The story is pretty awful and the characters are as thin as paper. We have a black butler who is cliché cowardly and superstitious and serves merely as the comical relief but I didn't find it funny at all, very annoying to be honest. So there is also a man from China who is staring at the house for most of the movie and a overlong and silly fight between good and bad guy towards the end. The damsel in distress was also very cliché merely serving as an excuse for the bad guy to abduct her and the others to come into action. The setting was good but the rest was totally forgettable. I suggest watching The Cat and the Canary which came out a bit later instead.

Nice to see the Hooded Claw's Grandad

[Spondonman · 7/10 · 11 June 2005]

I come out in favour of Midnight Faces, and even though I agree with both of the two previous posts makes it 2 - 1 for the moment! I too got this from AV, I'd not heard of it before and it was too irresistible and beguiling a title for me: to get it right I even watched it at midnight. The DVD is a budget release, so when the initial film frame wobble didn't go away I feared the worst, but it was suppressed after about 5 minutes, and although the print isn't in the best of shape it's bearable.

The story itself? Likable, implausible, utter nonsense, but you can clearly see the links from Phantom Of The Opera to The Bat and Cat And The Canary, and as such I suppose makes it perhaps more interesting from the historical point of view. The "hero" Ralph Bushman was a bit of a serious wimp, but his "man" Martin Turner still had to call him Boss dozens of times throughout - and even he was under mortal threat from the mysterious figure lunging about the house: no favourites here! What I really liked about MF though is the atmosphere of the spooky old house, and the outside shots of it, a splendid wooden Gothic pile - it was fascinating watching the endless fight on the roof - for the house itself! Incidentally Bushman was rather hard pressed fighting a cloaked figure who insisted on continuously holding one arm up to hide his face.

What a shame it wasn't just 10 minutes longer, and also what a shame if there isn't a better print extant.

Midnight Shadows....

[kidboots · 8/10 · 24 May 2014]

.....may have been a better name for it. This movie had everything that within ten years would become so passé in the "old dark house" and "things that go bump in the night" genres but in the mid twenties seemed so shiny and new!! There was the caped figure who walked with a shuffle but still managed to leap out of upper windows and onto the roof like an athletic teenager, an elderly man, wheel chair bound, assorted servants who looked like they stepped straight from a Charles Addams cartoon and a lovely damsel in distress. With all that there were still some surprises.

Produced by Otto K. Shreier who didn't make many films (3) but all of them starred handsome Francis X. Bushman Jnr. who obviously inherited his father's matinée idol looks but, alas, not his movie popularity as by the early 1930s he had descended to uncredited bits. Here he plays handsome (of course) Lynn Claymore who believes he has inherited a run down Southern mansion surrounded by swamp land that can only be reached by boat. At his late uncle's bequest he has to make his home there but if he dies within the year the estate reverts back to attorney Richard Mason (Jack Perrin, already, by 1925 entrenched in westerns - this was a rare diversion for him with not a horse or a saloon in sight). Even though the house has presumably been locked up since his uncle's death a caped and hooded figure is very much at home, jumping through windows, using all the trap doors and with his silhouette appearing menacingly on the walls.

The plot thickens when a distraught young girl bursts into the house, fleeing for her life from an old Oriental gentleman who only minutes before was quietly rowing her across the swamp. Suddenly everyone looks shifty - eyes darting from side to side whenever gormless Lynn looks the other way.

This is just a terrific movie that can stand on it's own merits - regardless of being compared to "The Bat" and "The Cat and the Canary", and all the more to it's credit that it was obviously a cheaply made programmer (nothing about it was cheap!!) Otis the creepy butler offers them both a nightcap in keeping with the uncle's tradition but when Lynn accidentally spills his, the cat who laps it up suddenly falls down dead!!

Kathryn McGuire has what it takes to play a pretty colourless heroine. Although she didn't find the success that a lot of her WAMPAS class (of 1922) did, her beauty was on display in two of Buster Keaton's more popular films - "Sherlock Jnr." and "The Navigator". By 1926 "Midnight Faces" seemed to be her one bright spot among westerns and serials.

A so-so flick

[pnkerner · 7/10 · 24 May 2008]

I'd like to give this film a higher rating but the poor editing and lack of continuity hurt the film. While it seems to a rip-off of the Cat and the Canary and The Bat, Midnight Faces does offer an enjoyable almost hour of viewing (the film clocks in at 53 minutes. While the acting is static (it is apparent that this is a poverty row production) the plot is good but the directing is another story (message to directors: either be a writer or a director, don't try to impress moviegoers by being a triple threat! It rarely works.) Bushman is tall, handsome, and virile. Kathryn McGuire is an attractive flapper type, and the rest of the rest is adequate. The biggest problem with this film is that the end comes so quickly. Other issues I noticed, why do the other cast members stand and watch Bushman beating the pulp out of the villain instead of rushing to his aid? Also, why is Bushman's valet seen crawling on the ground at the end of the film attempting to sprinkle salt on a pigeon or it is a pathetically small chicken? Lastly, why is the action in the film taking place at midnight when it is obviously daytime? This could have been an impressive late silent era film but the crude presentation of it makes it a film few will want to see. Still, give it a look if for just curiosity sake.

A classic mystery in its OWN right!

[binapiraeus · 10/10 · 3 February 2014]

Now, many people claim that "Midnight Faces" (!926), which was released very shortly after "The Bat", which is regarded today as the precursor of all the great classic mystery movies of the 30s, was in a way an 'imitation' - and yet (taking NOTHING away from "The Bat": it IS an absolute masterpiece!), "Midnight Faces" at this early stage ALSO contains about ALL the necessary ingredients for a really great, scary and at the same time entertaining mystery: an isolated old mansion, without electric light, of course, dark figures creeping through the hallways, shadows on the walls, a mysterious Asian hiding in the garden, a damsel in distress - and a Mantan Moreland-style secretary for the comical relief!

Besides, the plot is VERY clever and twisted, with a REAL surprise ending; and the acting is marvelous and quite natural for the time: starring young Francis X. Bushman Jr., the son of THE matinée idol of the 1910s, and pretty Kathryn McGuire whom we first pity and then suspect, "Midnight Faces", which has been overshadowed by "The Bat" for so long (and over the years almost sunken into oblivion), surely is another one of the GREAT forerunners of this wonderful classic mystery genre, and I think it does deserve more attention by classic movie buffs as well as by critics!

Decent

[Michael_Elliott · 11 March 2008]

Midnight Faces (1926)

** (out of 4)

Lynn Claymore (Francis X. Bushman, Jr.) inherits an old house out in the swamp in the middle of nowhere. Once there he sees a mysterious figure and lady a woman comes running in the house saying a madman with a knife is stalking her. This is an early "old dark house"/horror film that really doesn't know what it's trying to be. There's some minor comedy from the typical stereotyped black man, the horror elements aren't really creepy and the old dark house isn't all that creepy either. Even at 56-minutes this here seems a bit too long.

As of now, this film is only available through the public domain company Alpha, so don't expect perfect quality.