When Count De Brunay died his rare book collection was inherited by his nephew Paul (Clark Williams) and the Count’s sister Madame Rombiere (Helen Ware). Paul will not be able to inherit the estate for another five years so the estate is managed by the executor, Louis Bardou (DeWitt Jennings). The most valuable book in the collection is a pristine copy of the Gutenberg bible. Paul visits a rare book dealer, Monsieur Fos (William Faversham) with his friend, Armand (George E. Stone), to find out how much it is worth.
Currently there is an auction going on at Fos’ establishment. Paul sits next to Julie Verlaine (Claire Dodd) and strikes up a conversation with her. Also visiting the auction is Chief Inspector Marotte (Ferdinand Gottschalk). Marotte remembers Julie as a book thief he sent to jail awhile back. Julie makes an excuse to leave with Paul. Paul is attracted to Julie and inviters her to his newly inherited castle to see his Gutenberg bible. Marotte is on the trail of a murderous book thief named Prahecq. A prize like a Gutenberg bible is something that the thief would be very interested in. Julie is, in turn, attracted to Paul and is tired of being a book thief, but her partner Lucien Vonaire (Jack La Rue) is not so interested in letting her go. He also wants the bible.
Julie shows up at the castle where she meets Paul’s aunt and Bardou. Also living there is Didi Bonfee (Alice White). Didi is a friend who supported Paul while he was a starving artist. Now that he has inherited half an estate she believes she is entitled to receive 2,000 francs as repayment for taking care of him during his lean years. Lucien also shows up and sneaks into the house to steal the bible. Then Professor Racque (William Faversham) comes to the estate to see Paul. Racque offered 150,000 francs for the bible previously, but Paul is having trouble convincing Bardou to sell it. Bardou wants to donate it to a museum.
With a house full of people, strange things begin to happen. The bell in the old bell tower begins to ring. Later the bible is stolen and Bardou is found dead. Marotte shows up to take over the investigation convinced that the thief and murderer are both Prahecq. He also believes that Prahecq is one of the people still in the house.
“Secret of the Chateau” was released in 1934 and was directed by Richard Thorpe. It is an American mystery film. This is another of Universal’s films that was incorrectly marketed as a horror movie instead of a mystery movie. Apparently there were few horror movies produced in 1934 so Universal fibbed a little bit in its promotional material.
It is an average mystery but done rather well. There are enough suspects to keep you guessing as well as a few red herrings. Gottschalk, as the diminutive Inspector Marotte, is still impressive. The best part is actually Alice White as the sharp tongued, slightly dippy but totally adorable Didi Bonfee.
The butler, Martin, is played by Osgood Perkins. He is the father of actor Anthony Perkins from “Psycho” 1960 fame.