Murder at déjà vu
During a game of charades one of the players shoots another. It is suppose to be part of the game but Duncan Channing (Robert Ellis) is really dead. The shooter, Jim Kennedy (Kenneth Thomson), is baffled. He loaded the gun. He’s sure with blanks. Esme Kennedy (Aileen Pringle) was part of the parlor game. She fainted and was taken to her room.
At the party is criminologist Phillip Montrose (Hale Hamilton). He’s a detective. The police show up. They said they received a call saying there were two dead people. Then there is another gun shot. Mr. Kennedy is found dead, with a pistol in his hand. The police suspect a murder suicide. Will Phillip Montrose be able to figure out what is going on and who the murderer is? Or are the police going to get there first? That is the premise of the 1931 film “Murder at Midnight”.
"Murder At Midnight" was released in 1931 and was directed by Frank R. Strayer. The only reason I heard of this movie and wanted to see it was because it was mentioned in another movie I saw. The movie was called “The Mystery of Mr. Wong”. In it Mr. Wong (Boris Karloff) is a Chinese criminologist who is at a party. The hosts are playing a game of charades. The host and hostess are playing their parts. Another guest, the host’s secretary is playing the killer. The secretary shoots the host as part of the game. But the host is really dead.
It was like déjà vu. If you are interested in seeing a different take on this movie and you haven’t seen it. Check out Boris Karloff in “The Mystery of Mr. Wong” 1939. Of course it’s not surprising that they would be similar. They were both written by Scott Darling.
As for “Murder at Midnight” I enjoyed it. As far as the acting is concerned this movie was made in 1931. Not too long after “talkies” started. At that time people were still transitioning from one format to another so it is not out of the realm of possibility that the acting would be exaggerated. Try to keep in mind that everything back then was an experiment. If you think old movies are campy or the acting is over the top then leave it alone. If you like old movies then by all means check it out.
True, this is not really a horror movie or a science fiction movie. It is your basic Mystery movie. Let’s just call it an “Old dark house” kind of movie. That works for me.