What are the best 30's mysteries?

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What are the best 30's mysteries?
Topic Started: Jun 26 2009, 03:09 PM (721 Views)
mort bakaprevski	Jul 1 2009, 08:52 AM Post #16
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,433 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	Black Tiger Jul 1 2009, 07:38 AM One fun B from Republic is Up In The Air (1940). It's Monogram. Black Tiger One of my all-time favorite murder mysteries of the period is The Ninth Guest (1934) starring Donald Cook. The plot concerns a number of people invited to a party in a penthouse. They find they are trapped there and are killed off one-by-one by a mystery person who speaks to them through the radio who has a grudge against each of them. Sound familiar? It's based on a play by Owen Davis - whose work preceded Agatha Christie's own novel. The 1933 A STUDY IN SCARLET which is a Sherlock Holmes film... but bears NO resemblance to the novel of the same name, also utilizes a similar plot!! Edited by mort bakaprevski, Jul 1 2009, 08:53 AM.
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


KanSmiley	Jul 1 2009, 02:24 PM Post #17
Charter Member Posts: 1,223 Group: Members Member #10 Joined: September 3, 2005	The Ninth Guest that Mort references sounds a lot like Haper's Island that is currently on ABC. A real nothing series. I watched three episodes and I have to tell you I didn't care if the entire island blew up.
	http://www.saturday-matinee-memories.com/ Note: No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.


Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Jul 1 2009, 04:53 PM Post #18
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,178 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I didn't catch any gruff for putting Citizen Kane?
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


mort bakaprevski	Jul 1 2009, 05:04 PM Post #19
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,433 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	Waccchhhh, we can't leave the thirties without mentioning at least one Charlie Chan film (if only to tweak Gravy), S-o-o-o-o, I'm gonna mention two of 'em: CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA - Even without Karloff, this would be worth mentioning. Hell, Oscar Levant even wrote an opera for it... which plays in the background during a lot of the backstage action. As far as being a straightforward "whodunit" it cheats a bit since some of the prime clues are withheld from the audience until the denouement. But the atmosphere, music and supporting cast (with one notable exception) are terrific. CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND - Fun stuff with "magic", mind-reading & a great supporting cast: Cesar Romero, Douglas Dumbrille & Donald MacBride among others. This is the Sidney Toler version of Chan & I always liked his acerbic approach to the part. Sen Yung, of course, is the butt of most his wise-cracks. The denouement is particularly suspenseful.
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


Zodiac	Jul 1 2009, 05:17 PM Post #20
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 174 Group: Members Member #334 Joined: January 17, 2008	Having selected "Zodiac" as my screen name, I guess you can tell how much I liked CC at Treasure Island- my all time favorite CC, and I actually like them all. May I be so bold as to bring the discussion back to 40s mysteries? I really am trying to build my library and I respect the recommendations of the posters on this board- people with more experience , and probably more taste, than yours truly. I have always enjoyed the "old dark house" types, but the 40s mysteries, IMHO, were dark because the times were dark- end of the Depression and WWII - yet had some underlying grasp on life at that time. More reflective of their times and not "created" like the 50's noirs I have found a source of these films at a reasonable price, and any and all recommendations will be dutifully investigated. Thanks everyone Zodiac



mort bakaprevski	Jul 1 2009, 05:57 PM Post #21
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,433 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	Well, if you don't mind cheating a year, one of my all-time favorites is D.O.A. A mystery that is SO noir, it can't help but depress you. But, sheeesh, the positives are s-o-o-o-o positive: 1) Great cast including Edmond O'Brien, Luther Adler & Neville Brand. 2) A very impressive (& memorable) score from Dimitri Tiomkin (who is usually NOT one of my favorites). 3) A number of exciting action/suspense scenes. 4) Fabulous exterior shots of San Francisco & L.A. in the early fifties. 4) The Bradbury Building... which is almost worth the price of admission in itself. 5) Carol Hughes (Dale Arden in the last Flash) in a small supporting role. One of the films I can watch over & over & never tire of!!
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


Sgt King	Jul 16 2009, 08:22 PM Post #22
Charter Member Posts: 371 Group: Members Member #29 Joined: September 5, 2005	Thanks to all who responded to my original question here.



CliffClaven	Jul 18 2009, 11:39 AM Post #23
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 231 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	One more lead, but I don't think they're on DVD: TCM just ran a bunch of 1930s Warner Bs about Perry Mason. Very mixed bag, but the first ones with Warren William are competitive with Torchy Blaine and Michael Shayne. Wildly different from the TV series, this Perry Mason is a flamboyant bon vivant with the heart of a shyster. A cheerful mock-John Barrymore, William played Sam Spade in much the same manner in a bizarre pre-Bogart version of Maltese Falcon ("Satan Met a Lady"). His Della Street, played by different actresses, is variously a perky helpmate, a wisecracking partner in crime and a sensible Nora Charles (in the last William film, they actually get married). Paul Drake, the handsome detective on the TV show, becomes a comic thug nicknamed Spudsy. The last films in the series bring in younger, more conventional leading men as Mason and otherwise become much more generic.



Zodiac	Jul 18 2009, 03:58 PM Post #24
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 174 Group: Members Member #334 Joined: January 17, 2008	i really enjoy Warren William- I had not been exposed to his work till I started collecting movies. I would also add his Lone Wolf series , especially with Eric Blore



panzer the great & terrible	Jul 18 2009, 06:16 PM Post #25
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,351 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	I enjoyed the Williams Perry Masons too, was disappointed that he wasn't in all of them. If you like Warren William, see Strange Illusion (1945) directed by Edgar Ulmer. William plays a homicidal maniac and is convincing. Netflix has it.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	Jul 19 2009, 01:28 PM Post #26
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	For Mort: Tiomkin’s score for D.O.A., conveying inexorable drive, holds the whole picture together. The key scene is when Edmond O'Brien starts marching down the street after giving the little girl her ball back. For Stony: Totally agree that Citizen Kane is a mystery, at least for first time viewers. The famous Pauline Kael 1971 article in the New Yorker tried hard to make us feel like low-lifes. Orson went to great lengths to claim credit for all the technical achievements and to push all the Rosebud stuff onto Herman Mankiewicz, who was no longer around to defend himself. But there you have it.



mort bakaprevski	Jul 19 2009, 04:59 PM Post #27
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,433 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	Oh, good grief, I posted in the wrong thread. Oh well, while I'm here, thanks Frank for the posting on D.O.A. One helluva powerful movie... with one helluva powerful score!! Edited by mort bakaprevski, Jul 19 2009, 05:03 PM.
	“You’ve got to take the bitter with the sour.”


Chandu	Jul 19 2009, 05:15 PM Post #28
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,276 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	mort bakaprevski Jul 1 2009, 05:57 PM Well, if you don't mind cheating a year, one of my all-time favorites is D.O.A. A mystery that is SO noir, it can't help but depress you. But, sheeesh, the positives are s-o-o-o-o positive: 1) Great cast including Edmond O'Brien, Luther Adler & Neville Brand. 2) A very impressive (& memorable) score from Dimitri Tiomkin (who is usually NOT one of my favorites). 3) A number of exciting action/suspense scenes. 4) Fabulous exterior shots of San Francisco & L.A. in the early fifties. 4) The Bradbury Building... which is almost worth the price of admission in itself. 5) Carol Hughes (Dale Arden in the last Flash) in a small supporting role. One of the films I can watch over & over & never tire of!! Upon your reccommendation, I pulled D.O.A. out last week and gave it a look. I must say I enjoyed it a lot and I agree with all of your points. Good flick! Thanks for the heads-up!
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


rr79315	Aug 26 2009, 11:36 AM Post #29
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 112 Group: Members Member #185 Joined: March 17, 2007	From the 30's I recommend Secret of the Blue Room (Universal) The Death Kiss which pairs Lugosi, Van Sloan and David Manners from Dracula. View this and you will dislike Manners even more. 2 others, both available thru Alpha. Curtain at 8 and Murder at Midnight. Also good, if you can find it is Murder by the Clock. From the 40's start with And Then There Are None. The real fun is introducing a young person to this movie. It is so good, they will not even realize it is not in color. And for perverse fun, show them Going My Way first. 2 Universals from the 40's are musts. Night Monster and the Strange Case Of Dr. RX. Opinions are mixed on the latter but I find it entertaining. And it is short. And finally, off the top of my head, Fog Island and Spiral Staircase. Staircase is a classic and Fog Island pairs Atwill and Zucco. I'm sure there are several others and I will think of them later.



Zodiac	Aug 28 2009, 05:24 AM Post #30
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 174 Group: Members Member #334 Joined: January 17, 2008	Thanks so much! I need to track down Death Kiss and Dr Rx - I have the others and agree with your assessment


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