Murder by the Clock

1931's "Murder by the Clock" has remained a forgotten horror from the early 30s, but not by such eminent film historians like William K. Everson, who dutifully included it in his 1974 book CLASSICS OF THE HORROR FILM. Had it been made at Universal, no doubt it would be as well remembered as "Dracula" (which preceded it) or "Frankenstein" (which followed it), but Paramount did their share of terror classics too ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Island of Lost Souls," "Murders in the Zoo"). The sultry and seductive Lilyan Tashman (Mrs. Edmund Lowe) epitomizes what the word 'vampire' meant to audiences prior to Lugosi, a huge star going back nearly ten years, whose life would sadly end from cancer just three years after she made this. Irving Pichel, as the halfwit son with the strength of a bull, preferred working behind the camera rather than in front of it; nevertheless, as an actor, only his memorable work opposite Gloria Holden in "Dracula's Daughter" can compare with his macabre characterization here. Comic relief is supplied by Sally O'Neil's maid and Regis Toomey's Oirish cop (she co-starred with young Lon Chaney in 1933's "Sixteen Fathoms Deep," while Toomey's next film would see him co-starring with Boris Karloff in Universal's "Graft"). No, Paramount rarely dabbled in horror during the 30s, yet there wasn't a single dud among them.

Curiously enough, none of the previous reviewers have picked up on this film's title, which has negligible bearing upon anything that actually happens; of which there is plenty. What 'Murder by the Clock' sorely lacks is decent direction, editing and a music score; what it has is a jaunty plot, a magnificent (though underused) churchyard and crypt set, atmospheric photography by Karl Struss, an entertaining cast of wierdos and weaklings. And the breathtaking Lilyan Tashman.

Blanche Friderici is Julia Endicott, matriarch of the Endicott clan, plainly nearing the end of its thinning bloodline; her only heirs being Philip (Irving Pichel), a hulking simpleton capable of breaking a man's neck with his bare hands but little else, and Herbert (Walter McGrail) a drunken weakling completely under the thumb of his gold digging wife Laura, who Julia sums up as "a malicious designing creature, ought to be hung for a witch." The late Lilyan Tashman is an absolute blast as this platinum blonde Lady Macbeth smirking evilly one minute, shedding crocodile tears the next while flirting like mad with every man in sight with a pulse ("I could be awfully fond of you"), her curvaceous, Amazonian chassis seductively on display in a clinging satin number that would probably have caused censorship problems a few years later.

The unfunny comic relief provided by Irish cop Regis Toomey and maid Sally O'Neil is rendered wholly superfluous by Tashman's rollicking performance, which gets plenty of appreciative laughs. She meets her match, however, in Lt. Valcour (William 'Stage' Boyd), who engages her in a final battle of wills, "one artist to another".

Murder by the Clock from 1931 is so old it creaks. There are precodes and precodes - I find that films done before, say, 1933, are not well paced, the performances are mannered, and everyone talks slowly and takes big pauses in between. And there's an echo.

That out of the way, the cast members proved later on that they were capable of so much more: Lilyan Tashman, William Boyd, Irving Pichel, and Regis Toomey.

The story concerns the will of an old woman (Blanche Friderici) as she decides who is getting her money. That is, if she ever dies - she's so terrified of being buried alive that she has a horn installed in her crypt.

She has two choices as far as to whom she will leave her wealth - her son, the village idiot, or her worthless nephew (Pichel). Pichel's wife (Tashman) is constantly nagging him about getting the old lady's money sooner rather than later.

A domino effect is set up where people start dying - and two miraculously seem to come back to life, though one only briefly.

It's obvious who the mechanic behind the murders is, especially to the lieutenant on the case (Boyd). Will he do the right thing? And can he get the proof?

This is an old dark house mystery with secret passageways, a graveyard, a crypt, and it's dark. Frankly, I found it a little plodding. I thought William Boyd came off the best - he seemed to have found a good rhythm for his dialogue, and his acting was strong. Tashman for me got better as she went along.

I'd say this was a fun film, but you have to be in the mood. The echoes, the slow dialogue, the long pauses, plus the fact that it's hard to see much with the lighting, don't make this a favorite.

This was another movie that I had never heard of until it popped up on a list of horror movies from 1931. I decided that for my Odyssey Through the Ones, I would give this a viewing. I did read the synopsis here, but aside from that, I came in pretty blind with this one. The synopsis is an elderly woman installs a horn in her crypt in case she's buried alive.

Now that is part of the premise to the movie, but that really isn't a major part to be honest. We start in a cemetery where the caretaker is informing a family that they're closing up and have to go. They inquire why Julia Endicott (Blanche Friderici), her son Philip (Irving Pichel) and her sister of Miss Roberts (Martha Mattox) are allowed to enter. They have special permission due to Julia's late husband owning the land before it was sold.

The reason for their visit is to pay respects to Julia's late husband and Philip's father. Miss Roberts points out the real reason is to check to make sure the horn connected to her tomb is working like the synopsis states. She has a fear of being buried alive. I should also point out here, Julia is hard on her son and he is a bit mentally slow as well. Miss Roberts is quite protective over him though.

They return home and where we also get to meet their new maid, Jane (Sally O'Neil), as well as beat cop that walks around the neighborhood of Officer Cassidy (Regis Toomey). These two provide some levity to things. Jane also informs Julia that her nephew of Herbert (Walter McGrail) is coming over. Julia isn't thrilled to hear about this, especially if his wife is coming with him. She knows that Laura (Lilyan Tashman) is only with him for her money.

Before he arrives, we see an odd scene with Philip. He wants to kill. When Julia inquires more, Philip doesn't want to be a soldier, but a murderer. She realizes she cannot leave the fortune to him. She calls for her attorney to make a change to the will, making Philip the sole beneficiary.

We also get to know his wife a bit more. She is having an affair with Thomas Hollander (Lester Vail). He's a local sculptor who has also been giving her money as Herbert doesn't make enough for the lifestyle she wants to live. Herbert informs his wife of the change to the will and she subtle convinces him to kill his aunt. She won't admit to it, but men fall victim to her looks.

With the deed done, Philip becomes the prime suspect. He has one of the best motives for killing her, but Lt. Valcour (William 'Stage' Boyd) believes that Herbert has a better one. This causes him to be paranoid. Laura seems to be in control and is planning steps down the line. Lt. Valcour though doesn't trust her and is out to prove it.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and where I want to start would be that this movie has an interesting premise, especially for 1931. This is still pretty early in the murder mysteries, but what I like here is that we're getting a slightly different take on it. This also seems to be leaning into the film noir category since Laura is a femme fatale and really the mastermind of everything here. There is even a bit of flirting between our detective of Lt. Valcour and her as well.

This is something I want to delve a bit more into as well. Laura really uses her sexuality as a weapon to convince Herbert, Tom and even to an extent Philip. The latter I feel bad as he is mentally slow and really buys into what people say about him. She uses all of these men at different times to get what she wants and try to get away with it as well. Lt. Valcour should fall into this a bit as she does try to work her charm on him, but no matter what she does, he is sticking to his guns.

Philip is also an interesting character in all of this. We see that in the beginning, he's scared to go to the cemetery. Julia is mean to him about this while really the only one who truly cares about him is Miss Roberts. Philip is a psychopath though. He isn't all there mentally and he probably needs to be in a hospital to better help him. I believe this upbringing doesn't help in this case either. Julia is hard on him and it has negative effects. There is something interesting from a demonstration that he did that I didn't initially pick up on that plays back into the explanation in the end that I found interesting.

Then really the last thing I want to point out is from the synopsis. This horn in the tomb is interesting. I've heard of this idea with a bell back when science wasn't great. The movie really points out how important the horn is, but to be honest, it really isn't as impactful to the story as I thought. I guess it really is a bit of swerve in this respects, but I was thinking back to it constantly and it doesn't seem as important as they make it out to be.

Moving away from the story, I'll take this to the acting. No one really blew me away, but I think the acting is solid enough to make this story work. Boyd is good as this detective. I like this is a bit early to film noir, so he's not blinded by the femme fatale. He wants the truth and I like how determined he is. Tashman is attractive enough to fit her role. I also like her portrayal. When you hear her, you'd think that she is innocent, but we see how evil minded she is. Pichel is good as playing this character that is slow, but strong. He fit there. McGrail is fine along with Vail as men who get sucked into her lies. I thought Friderici plays this mean older woman to a tee. Toomey and O'Neil bring a bit of comedy while Mattox as well as the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

Then really the last thing to point out here is that we don't get a lot in the way of effects. It is early cinema and also not really that type of movie so it doesn't need them. The cinematography is much of the same. It doesn't stand out, but shot well. The copy I was watching wasn't great so there is that as well. Then finally the soundtrack was fine, but I did want to comment on the design. The horn that is used was effective. It doesn't really amount to much in my opinion. It is effective when you hear it and know exactly what it is.

In conclusion here, I think this is an interesting early murder mystery. I'm surprised to see this is listed as horror, but I think the possibility of being buried alive and what the movie makes us believe that Philip is capable of makes sense. There is a greed and murder as well. I think that the concept of this movie is really interesting, especially for 1931. The acting helps bring these characters to life. The sound design of the horn is effective and I'd say the cinematography, effects and soundtrack fit for what was needed. I would say this is an above average movie and one that I think should be seen more.

Disagreeable Blanche Friderici disinherits her son, Irving Pichel, who is a death-obsessed dullard, in favor of her nephew, Walter McGrail. He may be a drunk, and married to money-hungry Lilyan Tashman who's carrying on an affair with artist Lester Vail, she reasons, but he's not a brute. Miss Tashman tries to convince her husband the old lady should die tonight before she can change her mind, and she, she means they, can enjoy the money. And so the old lady is murdered, and the police come along. The chief of police thinks it's obviously Pichel, but lieutenant William 'Stage' Boyd is not so sure.

Three more murders and a resurrection take place in this Old Dark House mystery. It's certainly a creepy movie, what with the low light levels and creepy performances, but it shows the strength and weakness of director Edward Sloman. Visually it's perfect, but some of the performances are distinctly off; Sloman never really got out of the silent and largely depended on performers who could direct themselves, or a good dialogue director. Perhaps that's why the best performances are offered by Regis Toomey and Sally O'Neal, whose comic courtship amidst death and gloom are most welcome.