You'd Be Surprised (1926)

A diamond is stolen at a houseboat party given by the district attorney. He gives the thief a chance to return it by putting an empty box on a table and turning out the lights. When the ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Rosson

Writers:

Jules Furthman (story), Jules Furthman (screenplay),

Stars:

Raymond Griffith, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Martindel

Cast

Credited cast:
Raymond Griffith	...	Mr. Green - The Coroner
Dorothy Sebastian	...	Dorothy
Edward Martindel	...	Mr. White - District Attorney
Earle Williams	...	Mr. Black - Deputy District Attorney
Granville Redmond	...	Grey - Butler / Deputy Coroner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom McGuire	...	Inspector Brown (as Thomas McGuire)

Storyline

A diamond is stolen at a houseboat party given by the district attorney. He gives the thief a chance to return it by putting an empty box on a table and turning out the lights. When the lights are turned back on the box is gone, and the district attorney has a knife in his back and is quite dead. The police and the coroner arrive. There are several attempts made on the life of the coroner. Ruth Whitman is found hiding in a grandfather-clock, holding the gem box. She claims the box was pushed into her hands and she was pushed into the clock. The district attorney's butler/valet tells the coroner he saw who killed his employer and a few minutes later he is also murdered. The mystery deepens.

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Plot Keywords:

district attorney | coroner | diamond | houseboat | grandfather clock | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English American Sign Language

Release Date:

25 September 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Juiz Janota

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Benchley titles complement brisk comedy/theft/murder/mystery

Set on Friday the 13th, this film is a delightful comedy/ theft/ murder/ mystery with Raymond Griffith as a coroner who wants to solve the crimes on a houseboat in time to make it to the opera. Robert Benchley wrote the title cards, which were quite amusing - including the one about not disturbing the body of the deceased, because that was a job for the coroner, which became funnier upon each repetition. The off-beat jury rounded up by the police force apparently were in the mood to wrap things up quickly, calling "Guilty!" more than once as suspects were brought forth until admonished by the coroner not to find anyone guilty until he *told* them to. Griffith's routine with a double-sided coin (also seen in PATHS TO PARADISE) netted him food from both the milk man & hot dog vendor on the jury.

A deaf & dumb valet with whom the coroner communicates via the manual alphabet for the deaf (I couldn't keep up to see if intelligible words were being formed but I could discern proper letter formation from my interest in junior high days) was a nice touch, as was a black cat which wandered about at (in)opportune times.

Continued blowing of whistles after the arrival of the first police officer resulted in more and more officers appearing, somewhat like the sequence in PATHS TO PARADISE when the motorcycle cops pursuing the getaway car seem to never cease multiplying. But the coroner finally fingers the thief/murderer through clever psychological questioning and modern forensics, allowing him to leave for the opera with a young woman exonerated by his efforts.