The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)

Director:

J. Walter Ruben

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (story) and
J. Walter Ruben (story) ...

Release Date:

14 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

The most astounding crime in the history of mystery...the drama that thrilled millions on the air...Now on the screen with a million thrills! (original ad)

Plot:

Jenny Wren coerces banker Priam Andes to have a dinner party at his shorefront estate Crestwood, and instructs him to invite three other men...

Plot Keywords:

Party | Sister | Mansion | College Student | Deathmask

Cast

Ricardo Cortez	...	Gary Curtis
Karen Morley	...	Jenny Wren
Anita Louise	...	Esther Wren
Pauline Frederick	...	Faith Andes (Priam's sister)
H.B. Warner	...	Priam Andes (Harbor National Bank)
Mary Duncan	...	Dorothy Mears
Sam Hardy	...	Pete Harris
Tom Douglas	...	Allen Herrick
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Eddie Mack
Aileen Pringle	...	Mrs. Herbert Walcott
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Mr. Vayne, an alias of Henry T. Herrick (as Ivan Simpson)
George E. Stone	...	The Cat, Harris' Henchman
Robert McWade	...	Herbert Walcott
Hilda Vaughn	...	Carter (Jenny's maid)
Gavin Gordon	...	Will Jones

Runtime:

USA:76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The film was originally presented as a radio serial with the final episode left out! If the listener wanted to know the ending, they had to watch the film.

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

The old dark radio picture

What a clever film! Other comments here will fill you in on the content but let me say how interesting and unique is this film for its interactive and multimedia history. Made as the last chapter of a radio play released into cinemas instead of a radio broadcast, this film must have been an interesting and successful experiment in its day. It is also quite creepy and the pre code violence, in particular a stabbing scene on a stairway is very gruesome and explicit. The outdoor scenes almost seem to be testing the boundaries of technical sound and picture achievements of 1931 during production. I paid $3 for a VHS copy of this superb mystery film from a discount shop in Sydney. It is part of a series released here as THE RKO COLLECTION which I see for some reason is not available in the USA. The IMDb availability panel preceding shows that there is no tape or DVD availability for it. Well we have it here..along with The Most Dangerous Game, Island of Dr Moreau, Hips Hips Hooray, Mummy's Boys etc and a whole stack of 1930-33 RKO titles, all marketed legitimately with copyright. How strange Australia can have these but not the USA.