The Thirteenth Guest (1932)

13 years before the movie opens, there was a dinner party, at which the 13th guest failed to show up. The master of the manner has died, and left the bulk of his estate to this 13th guest, ... See full summary »

Director:

Albert Ray

Writers:

Armitage Trail (book), Frances Hyland (screenplay),

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, J. Farrell MacDonald

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ginger Rogers	...	Lela / Marie Morgan
Lyle Talbot	...	Phil Winston
J. Farrell MacDonald	...	Police Capt. Ryan
Paul Hurst	...	Detective Grump
Erville Alderson	...	Uncle John Adams
Ethel Wales	...	Aunt Jane Thornton
James Eagles	...	Harold 'Bud' Morgan
Crauford Kent	...	Dr. Sherwood (as Craufurd Kent)
Eddie Phillips	...	Thor Jensen
Frances Rich	...	Marjorie Thornton
Phillips Smalley	...	Uncle Dick Thornton

Storyline

13 years before the movie opens, there was a dinner party, at which the 13th guest failed to show up. The master of the manner has died, and left the bulk of his estate to this 13th guest, but nobody knows who that is. Now someone is murdering the remaining guests, and placing their dead bodies at the table, in the same seat they had occupied 13 years before.

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Plot Keywords:

police | guest | dinner | suspicion | estate | 

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Taglines:

BAFFLING! BREATHTAKING! CHILLS-THRILLS! (original poster)

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

El huésped nº 13

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Balsley & Phillips Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Uncle John refers to "Nine Yokohama" he is talking about a famous Japanese brothel.

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Goofs

Phil Winston (Lyle Talbot) is wearing a wedding ring throughout the film, despite playing an unmarried man.

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Connections

Followed by A Shriek in the Night (1933)

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Soundtracks

"Academic Festival Overture"

User Reviews

Pretty Ginger Rogers In A Haunted House!

Lovely young Ginger Rogers arrives at her long ago abandoned family manor on her twenty-first birthday to meet her lawyer so that she can find out about her inheritance. She finds out about foul play and murder instead! Obviously, someone in her family is trying to do away with her. But just who's trying to do it? Everyone is a suspect, including Rogers herself. Lyle Talbot is the private investigator who rounds up the entire family and tries to sort things out. J. Farrell MacDonald is the police sergeant who is confounded by it all. Paul Hurst is his nitwit sidekick. Everyone has some good lines and often the comebacks are hilarious. There's a part near the end of the film where Hurst's shoes are on the wrong feet, which is an absolute howl if you understand the reason why. Nice, creepy looking house is the perfect setting for pretty Rogers to be menaced in. There's plenty of cobwebs to contrast with Miss Rogers' who looks very cute in her costumes. Low-budget, but doesn't really seem to be because one gets involved in the puzzling mystery. You may have to see "The Thirteenth Guest" twice to fully understand it. It is a very intricate murder mystery which ultimately does make sense.