Movie Review: Mystery House (1938)

Synopsis: Banker Hubert Kingery is killed at his hunting lodge shortly after telling his fellow bank officers he suspects one of them of embezzling $500,000. Police rule his death a suicide, partly because he was found in a locked room. However, his daughter, Gwen, doesn't believe it and hires private detective Lance O'Leary to investigate.

Who's in it? The movie stars Dick Purcell, Ann Sheridan, Anne Nagel, William Hopper and Elspeth Dudgeon.


Review: I came across this movie on YouTube TV last night and added it to my library to watch this morning, while waking up enough to go out and clear the snow that fell while I was asleep. I like a good "locked room" mystery, and this one proved to be entertaining.

I think the thing that I enjoyed most about this mystery was the large number of suspects who happened to be with the victim when he died and the way they all managed to act suspiciously around O'Leary (Purcell). Also, while the $500,000 seemed like the primary motive, I found I wasn't completely convinced that was the reason he was killed.

The way the movie kept adding additional victims throughout was also intriguing because it added an extra level of surprise (though some of the additional murders were a little predictable) and created both suspicion and tension in the lodge, especially since the snow made it difficult to escape.

I also found I liked O'Leary. He had a such a calm demeanor, it was hard to read if he was making progress in his investigation or not, especially since he insisted on flirting with the nurse (Sheridan) whenever possible. This isn't always the case with classic movie detectives and, often, the wrong personality can give away the solution faster than having too many clues.

I have to admit, even the ending was a bit unexpected. I figured out how the murdered happened in a locked room and had some suspicion about who the killer was (though not necessarily the motive), but it was one of the few movies I had to watch until the very end to get all the answers. That, alone, made it worth watching.

Final Opinion: If you like mysteries, this is a film that is worth adding to your must-watch list. I enjoyed every minute of it.

My Grade: A

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: Mean Girls (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After being raised in Kenya and homeschooled by her mother, high school junior Cady Heron is given the opportunity to attend classes at an American public school. As she tries to adjust, she is invited to join the Plastics, a girl clique headed up by the beautiful but vicious Regina George. Despite her friends, Janis and Damian, warning her about Regina and her fellow clique members, Karen and Gretchen, Cady tries to see the good in Regina. That changes when she falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and sees just how cruel Regina can be. Her acts of revenge, however, result in Cady assuming many of Regina's less-than-desirable traits and ultimately becoming a pariah. All while breaking out into song and dance because this is a musical. Who's in it? The movie stars  Angourie Rice ,  Reneé Rapp ,  Bebe Wood ,  Tim Meadows and Tina Fey . Review: I've seen the original Mean Girls multiple times, first when it originally came out then again with eac
Read more

Movie Review: Upgraded (2024)

Image
Synopsis: After running up a ton of student loan debt as an art history major, Ana's dreams of owning her own gallery hinge on being able to make an impression with her new boss, Claire, at a prestigious auction house. She gets that opportunity when she's invited to serve as an assistant on a trip to London, where a rare collection is about to be auctioned off. After receiving a surprise upgrade to first class, Ana meets William, the son of a British actress, and when he mistakenly believes she has her boss' job, she doesn't correct him. This creates complications as she begins to fall for William and learns his mother is the one selling the art collection. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Mendes , Archie Renaux , Marisa Tomei , Lena Olin and Anthony Head. Review: I came across this movie on Amazon Prime yesterday and since it sounded like something my wife and I would both like, I added it to my list. We watched it tonight and, overall, I thought it wound up
Read more

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when my wi
Read more