Hubert Kingery (Eric Stanley) is a financier and the president of a bank. He is entertaining friends and family at his grand hunting lodge. One evening after dinner he asks those that are investors in the company to stick around for an impromptu meeting. He announces that the company is in danger of going bankrupt and he needs to use their securities to keep it afloat. This is not met very well. Kingery tells them that someone forged company documents and has embezzled half a million dollars. He says that one of the company’s officers is to blame. That means one of the men in the room is the forger and thief. The five men present are Lal Killian (William Hopper), Julian Barre (Anthony Averill), Newell Morse (Hugh O’Connell), Gerald Frawley (Ben Weldon) and Joe Page (Anderson Lawler).
Later that night a shot is heard and Kingery is found dead in his locked room. Everyone suspects suicide except his daughter, Gwen Kingery (Anne Nagel). The coroner’s inquest declares the death suicide and the case is closed. Not accepting this, Gwen invites the same people to the hunting lodge the next weekend. Everyone accepts the invitation because they don’t want to garner suspicion. Gwen’s Aunt Lucy Kingery (Elspeth Dudgeon) is a crotchety old lady in a wheelchair. She has a full time nurse Sarah Keate (Ann Sheridan).
Gwen asks Sarah if she knows a good detective that would investigate her father’s death and get to the truth. Sarah recommends Lance O’Leary (Dick Purcell). As soon as Lance arrives someone takes a shot at him. Then one of the guests, Helen Page (Jean Benedict), that suggested she knew something, is found dead. Another appearance of suicide. O’Leary doesn’t have much to go on and as he gathers the meager clues another death sets everyone suspicious of each other.
“Mystery House” was released in 1938 and was directed by Noel M. Smith. It is an American mystery crime film that was based on the 1930 novel “The Mystery of Hunting’s End” by Mignon G. Eberhart. Eberhart did several stories based on a nurse called Sarah Keate. Ann Sheridan played the nurse twice on film. The other film was “The Patient in Room 18”. “Mystery House” is also one of twelve movies packaged by Warner Brothers and Black Mask magazine that is part of their “Clue Club” series.
This is your standard who-done-it style movie with a bit of Old Dark House mystery and a bit of a locked room mystery added in. No more, no less. Performances are actually good with some young stars that will soon become big stars, in particular Ann Sheridan and Dick Purcell.
Mignon G. Eberhart began writing mysteries to deal with boredom. She wrote 59 novels and short story collections, at least nine of them were turned into movies. Six of her films were turned into clue club movies, five of which featured Nurse Sarah Keate. In 1971, she received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
You also get a very young William Hopper with dark hair.