A Shriek in the Night (1933)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Albert Ray

Writers:

Frances Hyland (writer)
Kurt Kempler (story)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot are rival newspaper reporters always trying to outscoop each other. They...

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper Reporter | Murder | Reporter | Revenge | Woman Reporter

Cast

Ginger Rogers	...	Pat Morgan
Lyle Talbot	...	Ted Kord
Harvey Clark	...	Peterson, the Janitor
Purnell Pratt	...	Police Insp. Russell
Lillian Harmer	...	Augusta, the Housekeeper
Arthur Hoyt	...	Wilfred
Louise Beavers	...	Maid (as Louise Beaver)
Clarence Wilson	...	Editor Perkins

Runtime:

66 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Western Service Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Allied Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Follows The Thirteenth Guest (1932)

Slow-Moving, But a Pretty Good Mystery

Though slow-moving and obviously done on a low budget, "A Shriek in the Night" has a pretty good mystery story, and features a good role for Ginger Rogers as a reporter trying to solve the crime.

The story concerns a series of murders committed in an apartment building, in which each of the victims had received a cryptic anonymous letter before their death. Rogers' character goes undercover to investigate, and she finds herself in conflict both with the police and with a rival reporter (Lyle Talbot). The two reporters try to mislead and trick each other even as both are trying to solve the murders.

Most of the story is rather slow-moving, but towards the end things start to happen quickly, and it is worth waiting for. Rogers plays her part well, and there are a few moments of humor.

While overall it is a rather plain movie, if you like old mystery stories you will probably find it worth watching once.