A Strange Adventure (1932)

A police lieutenant and a female reporter investigate a series of murders comitted by a hooded killer in an old dark house.

Director:

Phil Whitman

Writers:

Arthur Hoerl (story), Lee Chadwick (continuity),

Stars:

Regis Toomey, June Clyde, Lucille La Verne

Cast

Cast overview:
Regis Toomey	...	Detective-Sergeant Mitchell
June Clyde	...	'Nosey' Toodles
Lucille La Verne	...	Miss Sheen
Jason Robards Sr.	...	Dr. Bailey (as Jason Robards)
William V. Mong	...	Silas Wayne
Eddie Phillips	...	Claude Wayne
Dwight Frye	...	Robert Wayne
Nadine Dore	...	Gloria Dryden
Alan Roscoe	...	Stephen Boulter
Isabel Vecki	...	Sarah Boulter (as Isabelle Vecki)
Harry Myers	...	Police Officer Ryan
Eddy Chandler	...	Police Sgt. Kelly (as Eddie Chandler)
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones	...	Jeff (as Snowflake)

Storyline

Silas Wayne's will leaves the bulk of his estate to his niece, but the cursed Candor diamond catches the eye of someone who can't wait for the old man to die. When he's mysteriously stabbed to death in front of the police and his heirs, Detective -Sergeant Mitchell and newspaper reporter 'Nosey" Toodles work together to solve the crime.

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Plot Keywords:

police | old dark house | killer | death | stabbed to death | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wayne Murder Case

Company Credits

Production Co:

I.E. Chadwick Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Not enough evidence to solve the crime; not enough story for an hour of film

This movie is a whodunit dressed-up like a mix of Midnight Faces (1926) with The Cat and the Canary (1927).

There is a clever twist to how the murder itself is effected, but unfortunately the story containing it is rather meager; it could have been presented in perhaps 20 minutes, rather than in the hour expended.

As in various other films, an independent investigator whose behavior is plainly illegal is tolerated rather than taken into custody or even expelled. The explanatory device, in this case, is that the officer in charge is in love with her, but credibility is over-stretched.

That officer ultimately solves the case using evidence withheld from the audience while in his possession; that evidence is not particularly surprising, but it also is not sufficiently strong, especially given that the officer had to rely upon testimony as to events at the time of the murder, rather that being himself a witness to it.

Another flaw in this story, common to a great many films of the period, is the presence of a stereotyped black servant -- dim-witted, superstitious, cowardly, and slow-moving except when terrified.