Movie Review: The Devil Plays (1931)

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Synopsis: When Jerry Duncan is murdered after a dinner party, the police arrest Diana Amberson, who was seen entering his room right around the time he was killed and refuses to say why she was there. Mystery writer Harry Forrest, who is in love with Diana, believes her innocence, which is later proven when another guest is killed, and helps the police find the person who is responsible and why.

Who's in it? The movie stars Jameson Thomas, Florence Britton, Lillian Rich, Lew Kelly, George "Gabby" Hayes and Edmund Burns.


Review: Some late morning/early afternoon storms are brought some much-needed rain today but also meant I couldn't go for a walk at lunch. Since I was stranded indoors, I finally decided to watch The Devil Plays, which had been in my library for a few weeks. 

It was an OK movie but also seemed to lack something.

The mystery itself was reasonably decent. The victim (Jack Trent) doesn't get a lot of screen time, but the movie gives just enough information about him to make it clear there could be multiple people who would want him dead while, at the same time, setting up Diana (Britton) as the most likely suspect (at least until the second murder) based both on the time she was in the victim's room and a motive that also could implicate her sister, Grace (Rich) and/or Grace's husband (Robert Ellis).

I think where this movie failed to hit the mark with me is the execution. All I really knew about Harry Forrest (Thomas) was he was a mystery writer and the film honestly doesn't do anything to paint him as anyone who is extra intelligent, just considerably smarter than the police. Don't even get me started on how they found a body in a night club and then just let patrons leave rather than locking the business down.

In fact, one of the biggest mysteries in this murder mystery was how Snyder (Kelly) was still employed. I mean, the man lost the murder weapon and was still allowed to investigate. Perhaps the police department wouldn't need help from outside amateur sleuths if they just hired competent people.

Ultimately though, the movie had a bad habit of spoiling things. Diana was a great red herring suspect until a second body was dropped in a way that cleared her. Meanwhile, Forrest's big reveal at the end was significantly lessened by the killer(s) choosing to try to flee first while the motive was revealed when the police announced money and letters had been stolen from the victim. I don't even know why he bothered doing a recap.

Final Opinion: It was a movie that had a mystery that gave it some potential, but it failed to execute the story in a way that didn't give the ending away.

My Grade: C

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Here are some reviews of other 1930s murder mysteries:

Movie Review: The Lady in Scarlet (1935)

Movie Review: A Shriek in the Night (1933)

Movie Review: Murder on a Honeymoon (1935)

Movie Review: The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)

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