The Thatcher family is an old and proud dynasty that has fallen on hard times. The remaining Thatcher family consists of Dave Thatcher (Bill Elliott), his wife, Janice Thatcher (Claire Dodd), Hilary Thatcher (Joseph Crehan), his wife, Evelyn Thatcher (Florence Fair), and the matriarch, Adela Thatcher (Virginia Brissac). The only other family member is the black sheep, Bayard Thatcher (William B. Davidson).
Bayard is in a bit of a bind and needs $25,000 by the next night. He tells the family that he will leave and never bother them again if they give him what he wants. They refuse and claim they don’t have $25,000. Bayard then threatens to expose all the family skeletons, which are many and varied, including the illegal ones. Adela gives in and promises to pawn the family emeralds to get him the money he wants.
Since the money won’t be available until the next afternoon, Bayard decides to stay at the mansion until he has the money. During the night, as a violent thunderstorm is brewing, Bayard is shot but still alive. They call the family doctor, but he is out of town. Covering his calls is Dr. Allen Carick (Lyle Talbot). Carick calls Nurse Sally Keating (Marguerite Churchill) to stay with the patient.
The next day everyone is out running various errands. Bayard says he wants to be alone so he sends Sally out telling her to enjoy the sunshine and he would call her when he needed her. Sally sits on a swing outside the house where she has a nice view of all the comings and goings. While Sally is enjoying a book in the yard, someone entered the house and, this time, managed to complete the job of killing him. Sally is challenged with determining who was where, and who did what. While she is interpreting the clues, another death happens.
“Murder by an Aristocrat” was released in 1936 and was directed by Frank McDonald. It is an American murder mystery “B” film. The movie was based on a 1932 novel by Mignon G. Eberhart. Eberhart made seven books, and a few short stories, about the Sarah Keate character, called Sally Keating in the film.
This was the seventh of twelve films produced as part of a promotional feature between Warner Brothers and Black Mask Magazine that were aimed at young people. The promotion was called Clue Club.
This is the quintessential Old Dark House mystery. The movie feels much like a stage play. Of the 59-minute run time, at least 10 minutes is devoted to the wind up where that suspects are all assembled and the detective, in the form of Nurse Keating, explains all the clues and reveals the killer. It is reminiscent of a game of clue and a bit of a hoot. It’s not a great movie, but it does have a decent, though involved mystery and is a lot of fun.