Midnight Phantom (1935)

Director:

Bernard B. Ray

Writer:

John T. Neville (story)

Release Date:

27 November 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Tagline:

AN UNSEEN HAND SPREADING TERROR (original one-sheet poster)

Plot:

A newly hired police chief vows to clean up a notoriously corrupt police department. When he is murdered, investigators find that there is no shortage of suspects, most of them being fellow cops. |

Plot Keywords:

Police | Clue | Identity | Victim | Police Lineup

Cast

Reginald Denny	...	Prof. David Graham
Claudia Dell	...	Diana Sullivan (misspelled Diane Sullivan in opening credits)
Lloyd Hughes	...	Police Lt. Dan Burke
Jim Farley	...	Police Chief James A. Sullivan (as James Farley)
Barbara Bedford	...	Kathleen Ryan
Mary Foy	...	Mary Ryan
John Elliott	...	Capt. Bill Withers
Francis Sayles	...	Police Surgeon Kelly
Al St. John	...	Radio Officer Jones
Henry Roquemore	...	Dr. McNeil
Lee Prather	...	Police Capt. Perkins
Robert Walker	...	Police Capt. Jim Phillips
Jack Kenny	...	Police Inspector Silverstein

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

Reliable Pictures Corporation (I)

Movie Connections:

Alternate language version of El crimen de media noche (1936)

Just Terrible, But Quotable!

This is the creme de la creme of awful. It is the slowest moving, dullest thing on four legs. The first third of the film takes place in the office of the police chief, a windbag who calls people in and berates them for various reasons. He apparently is under fire from politicians. There are so many substrains, most of which are unrelated and have nothing to do with a plot. At one point the young male lead kills his own brother and is then not allowed to marry the chief's daughter because he didn't disclose his connection to a criminal. If you watch the film, you'd know that he just found out as the guy was dying. There are others. The chief has a secretary half his age, the daughter of one of the ugliest women I've ever seen. The old lady is a policewoman and insists the chief marry her daughter because the two have been seen together. Then there is this hilarious scene where a series of prisoners are paraded in front of criminologist Reginald Denny. He comments on their criminal appearance (shifty eyes and lack of ambition, for example), and tells what their traits are. He hits on all cylinders. Reefer Madness has nothing on this one. I'm so happy I got to see it and would like to watch it with friends. It's so sincere and so awful.