The Devil Plays (1931) User Reviews

A Tea Cozy Mystery

[CatherineYronwode · 6/10 · 24 September 2020]

This is a typical mansion murder or cozy mystery, with only four sets: the apartment where the murder takes place, the police captain's office, the low-rent hotel of a hard-bitten show girl and a tea room financed by shady money. I tuned in for the tea room, because collecting tea room memorabilia is one of my hobbies.

The set did not disappoint. It is the Universal "basement restaurant" set (seen in other movies as an Italian restaurant, etc.). Outfitted with a bevy of what seem to be Pretty Little Dutch Girl waitresses and laid out to resemble the Bohemian basement tea rooms of Sheridan Square and Greenwich Village in the 1910s to 1920s, mostly fading from view by the time this was filmed in 1931.

There were some nice deco touches in the show girl's hotel room set as well. .

That was about it. The acting was slow and halted, the actors' mannerisms stylized and stagey, and the plot was totally random.

The Devil In The Details

[boblipton · 6/10 · 22 February 2021]

Writer Jameson Thomas comes into the room to find people standing over a body, discussing who had killed the victim. When he demands to know why they haven't called the police, the corpse stands up. They've being going over a scene in his latest murder novel.

Later, when a corpse does show up, they call the police. When Inspector Thomas Jackson appears in charge of a group of policemen, they don't discuss, they ask questions of the people and give nothing back. As they grow frustrated by all the witnesses who saw nothing and know nothing, Thomas begins to work the situation over in his mind.... and makes some suggestions to the rather contemptuous professionals.

Richard Thorpe certainly knew how to get a good movie out of a decent script and skilled players. It led him from Poverty Row oaters to directing epics for MGM, with some camera tricks to keep costs down. In this one, it's never quite clear when characters are performing, and when they're saying what they are actually thinking. If it seems slow at times, because Thorpe won't cut entrances to get to the meat of the scene I felt my usual impatience with the turgid pacing of Poverty Row shows... or was it a sense that opportunity was slipping away while characters thought? A little of both, I think.

Near the bottom of the barrel

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 15 February 2024]

A stiff, static early talkie mystery that has no recognizable (today) actors in it, which is especially impactful in the case of the men, who all pretty much look, sound and dress alike: it is particularly hard to tell those with a mustache apart. The killer seems to be chosen at random at the end, without much regard for sense or motivation. The budget is so low that the entire movie takes place in two or three (under-decorated) sets. There is some promise in the idea of a mystery-novel detective getting involved in a "real-life" murder....but so many other movies have used that idea better. *1/2 out of 4.

Horrible Snoozefest

[bozopolis · 2/10 · 22 October 2018]

I usually love these old parlor mysteries but this one started with a thud that just got more boring as the film dragged on and on. To say the acting was stiff is an incredible understatement. Thomas E. Jackson played the Inspector with Lew Kelly providing "comic relief" that made you wish the killer would strike again and put us all out of their memory. The doctor, played by an uncredited George "Gabby" Hayes diagnosed that a decanter of water had been drugged by tasting it. The mystery writer/amateur detective ran rings around the cops as expected but was just as useless at solving the crime. The only crime here was the 63 minutes that was stolen from me (no wonder Hayes didn't want to be listed as being in this turkey). I never expect a masterpiece from a Chesterfield poverty row production but most of them at least have a coherent story. I wonder if the screenwriter decided who the killer was or they just drew lots for it 3/4 of the way through the film. There's a lot of movies better than this one. Don't waste your time.

Low rent murder mystery

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 25 September 2017]

THE DEVIL PLAYS is one of those very low budget murder mysteries set in just a couple of indoor locations. It's one of those supposedly lost films which perhaps should have remained lost given the poor quality of the thing. This is one of those 1930s films which feels like it comes from another era, with trite dialogue and overly theatrical acting which spoils the realism of the piece. A person is murdered and various assembled folk try to figure out the identity of the murderer from a number of suspects. Despite running at just an hour in length, this is slow indeed, and almost completely without merit.

The Devil Plays review

[JoeytheBrit · 3/10 · 18 May 2020]

A pretty dreadful low-budget murder-mystery which pays little attention to defining its characters. There's a lot of talk, but very little action.

High rent performances

[gcube1942 · 7/10 · 20 September 2018]

I am writing this review as a counterpoint to the other review. Although I agree with all that was written, it completely misses the point of why this movie is enjoyable. It is the chance to see several veteran players of the silent cinema playing without the restraint of being just bit actors and dress extras, which was their more frequent fate. Sure the material is junk and they would much rather have been working as stars at Metro or Paramount. But the reality was that this was their life, it was a living, and they kept soldiering on. Here is betting that they all had a good laugh after each scene and appreciated that in 1931 any job was a good job.

It's Slow, But At Least It's Dull

[Hitchcoc · 3/10 · 14 December 2020]

Some movies aren't worth watching. This is one. There are too many vacuous characters and an insipid plot. The lines are delivered with a full second between speeches, as if they were waiting for the audience to absorb the silly dialogue. There is some humor and that's about all that makes it even slightly worthwhile. Don't bother.

Dull and slow not worth watching unless you're really into the early days of the films

[CinedeEden · 1/10 · 29 October 2022]

Yes I know this is the time period were silent films were transitioning to sound and film were about to be great. This is also a poverty row film made by chesterfeild and used a lot at universal to shoot this film. Chesterfeild did this with all their productions they rented out. The actors and actress were origanlly from the sielnt era and played as extras and other roles throught their carrers. Richard Thorpe the driector of this motion picture would go on to direct more tarzan pictures. Jameson Thomas played a small role in "it happened one night" 1934. And Florence Britton did extra work on the mummy.

A Nice Chance to See the Ravishing Florence Britton!!

[kidboots · 8/10 · 13 June 2019]

Always wanted to know just what a first release Chesterfield or other poverty row movie would have looked like in cinemas - instead of the grainy duped prints available nowadays. Chesterfield rarely ventured out of doors, usually a room or two would suffice and this movie was no exception but being filmed at Universal studios at least the rooms were stylish. Jameson Thomas was an actor who enjoyed a varied career in British films but once in Hollywood found himself typecast as oily business men with only one thing on their minds. For a pleasant surprise here, he plays Harry Forrest, a crime writer and at the start of the movie one of the characters jokes that if a real crime were to occur Forrest would be as useless as any of them at solving it!!

And of course, at the stroke of 12!!!.... strange doings are afoot as the Quinceys are both overcome by dizziness after drinking from the water jug, Forrest is looking forward to renewing his relationship with Diana after a year's break but she has something on her mind!! Florence Britton is ravishing as Diana, in major films usually cast as the sensible sister, here she gets a chance to show her vibrancy "What do you want of me", "A price you can easily pay"!! There is a game of musical chairs going on - all leading to Jerry Murdock (Richard Tucker), the reason for Diana's nervousness. She is worried that her married sister Grace (Lillian Rich, once a De Mille star) will be lured back into an affair with him. Next morning with Murdock found dead and all people in the house with an alibi, police (who else in charge but Thomas E. Jackson) turn to his widow, slinky Carmelita Geraghty, who was seen slinking by the house but hello, hello, who should come by but Johnson, the chauffeur, who initially claimed he knew nothing!! When another body turns up it seems to involve some in over their heads and a pretty innocent looking coffee shop!!

Recommended

If eternity with Satan is watching this over and over, that certainly is damnation.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 15 April 2020]

Being filmed at Universal studios gives this poverty row mystery a boost but that's all there is in this hour-long trip to tedium. Like a filmed stage play (and not a good play to begin with), this creeps along like a slug, seeming eternally filled with long pauses of no dialog and the actors directed to speak ever so slowly. The plot surrounds the murder of an aging letch at a high society party where the guests are ironically playing a murder game, and when the police show up (with the typically hard-boiled dimb detective leading the investigation), it's non-stop question and answers for several reels before anything consiquential is revealed. There isn't really worth singling out among the obscure actors as the characters are your typical paint by number personalities, and no one remotely lively. The lack of humor and tedious pacing makes this instantly forgettable.

Bland Whodunnit

[dougdoepke · 4 October 2020]

The flick's a pre-Code detective story. Pretty clearly it's meant as nothing more than a 60-minute programmer, with a no-name cast, an indoor narrative, and a script that generates little suspense. It's a series of murders in a mansion with several high-class couples as suspects. However, the whodunnit never really ignites since the bland uninteresting characters come and go in haphazard fashion. The only spark is the comedy relief cop (Kelly) whose eye-rolling and Karloff-like mug attract some interest. I kept hoping the filming would go outdoors so maybe we could see some of those gas belching tin flivvers from that era. No such luck. But do catch the ladies' many cloche hats so popular during the fashionable 20's. At the same time, there's no real evidence of that uncensored pre-Code period, though the ladies do model some eye-catching apparel. Anyway, I gather the movie was lost for many years, but has since been found. It may not be a big boon for entertainment, but does catch the flavor of its time. So, here's to historical, if not artistic, completeness.

Ho-Hum

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 27 February 2024]

It's getting to the point that once you've seen one pre-code murder mystery, you've seen them all. This is another "ho hum," murder-in-a-mansion, high-society drama, full of pretentious rich folks with horrible accents.

"The Devil Plays" is very blase. Let's see, you've got rich people in a manor, a mysterious death, a lot of guilty looking people, and a crime novel writer there to help solve the case. The only thing missing were lights going off and secret passageways. The captain even demanded all the party guests come down to his office where you knew the killer would be outed in, usually, a simplistic or foolish way. In this case the killer(s) had money and letters on them--key pieces of evidence, because criminals always walk into police stations with incriminating evidence on them.

Free on YouTube.

So bad it's not even funny

[ackermanle · 1/10 · 22 June 2021]

One of the worst movies I've seen in my life. Bad... acting, directing, script, editing, music (none, except a Wagner overture). I watched just because it was short.

"Listen, Flatfoot, You Haven't Got Anything On Me!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 28 May 2021]

THE DEVIL PLAYS is about what happens when a group of people gather at a mansion to play a game called "Murder". When the clock strikes midnight, the game begins, "deaths" occur, and a mysterious woman lurks about.

Later that morning, the game becomes real when someone is found dead. The police arrive to start their investigation, with a house full of suspects. As the case broadens, the cops go outside of the mansion for clues.

Then, a second murder is committed, literally, under their noses! Making matters worse, the deed was done using the very same weapon... which was in police custody!

How is this possible?

A great old-old school murder mystery, complete with a gaggle of interesting characters, and a big, final revelation. Highly entertaining...