The 9th Guest

This movie just became available on YouTube. This is an adaptation of the book The Invisible Guest, and follows a similar plot to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, while predating it by almost ten years. The plot is simple - people have been invited to a party by an unknown host, and are being killed off for their 'crimes.' In an interesting twist on the genre, this story is set in a modern penthouse apartment rather than a dark old house. And while the 'second butler' is introduced for laughs, he is on the screen for a mercifully short time.

Don't expect a lot here - I gave it a '6', thinking it's just above neutral. I did watch it to the end, but I wasn't always engaged, and the clunky romance element didn't help it much. Also in its favor, in a negative sense, there was no bumbling police to spoil what there is of drama. Worth a watch for those who like the genre, but not something you'll watch a second time.

I'm not sure how or why I haven't seen this one before. The 9th Guest is an incredibly enjoyable discovery on my part. As any number of comments online will point out, the movie plays out much like Agatha Christie's better known And Then There Were None. Though The 9th Guest isn't a comedy, I'd be shocked to discover that this film wasn't at least a partial inspiration behind the wickedly funny Murder by Death and/or Clue.

In the film, eight guests have been invited to a mysterious party where they are promised a memorable evening. Each guest has a closet full of skeletons and most are quite vocal in their feelings toward the other members of the party. We later learn that the titular 9th guest is "Death". The party's host makes his presence known via a radio in the main room. He promises that throughout the night, one-by-one, each member of the party will be killed. With no means of escape, who will survive the night?

The acting in The 9th Guest is first rate. I'm not sure I was overly familiar with most of the cast, but all are outstanding. The writing is also worth noting. The dialogue is especially sharp. But I think the biggest kudos for the success of The 9th Guest have to go to director Roy William Neill (oddly credited as R. William Neill). It takes a masterful hand to wring this much atmosphere out of a film. Add to that the fact Neill does this without the usual gothic trappings I generally consider necessary to an atmospheric film. Instead of an old, dark Victorian mansion or some ancient, crumbling gothic abbey, The 9th Guest features a thoroughly modern (for its time) art deco penthouse setting I wouldn't normally associate with a film like this. The movie is only let down by how ridiculous some of the characters act when faced with death. Had they just kept a level head, more might have survived. But how fun would that have been?

8/10

Eight people, every one of whom has got something to hide - from crooked politicians to greedy businessmen to fake 'society ladies' - are invited by telegram to a 'party' in a penthouse high upon a skyscraper; which, as soon as they all arrive, turns into a 'prison', and the party into a deadly 'game' between the eight guests and their mysterious 'host', who communicates with them only via a radio. And he predicts that, before the night will be over, either they or he will die - and slowly, the eight trapped people start suspecting each other of being the 'hidden' host...

Does that sound familiar to us? It CERTAINLY does: Agatha Christie's famous novel "Ten Little Indians", which was made into the MAGNIFICENT thriller "And Then There Were None", runs pretty much along the same lines... Now, "The Ninth Guest" may seem to us like being on a somewhat smaller scale at first than Rene Clair's masterpiece - BUT not only does it predate that classic movie by 11 years, but it ALSO predates Agatha Christie's novel, which was first published in 1939! So the general idea originated from HERE...

And seen as a classic murder mystery in itself, it's really one of the most suspenseful ever made, with a brilliant cast that conveys the psychological aspect of mutual suspicion and strong tensions PERFECTLY, as well as the conflict between despair and the will to survive... And there are some names among it that are QUITE well-known to fans of classic movies: Donald Cook would soon play the famous writer-sleuth Ellery Queen in "The Spanish Cape Mystery", and later became a TV star, just like Hardie Albright, who appeared in many a comedy and gangster movie in the 30s and 40s; and then there is, of course, lean-and-hungry Edward Ellis - the 'Thin Man' (no, not Nick Charles, of course, but the REAL 'thin man' Clyde Wynant, around whom the story of the original "Thin Man" movie revolved)! And director Roy William Neill, who did a FANTASTIC job in creating this claustrophobic atmosphere, later directed many of the 'Sherlock Holmes' movies starring Basil Rathbone. So the whole crew certainly IS a guarantee for an hour of CLASSIC 'whodunit' entertainment - a 'must' for every fan of the genre, and not only!

Eight strangers are invited to a dinner party at an apartment. They are Informed by the host through the radio that they are all his enemies, without escape, and that they will meet the ninth guest: death.

Familiar format used often in film and also more successfully. Nevertheless the script, based on a book, which itself was based on a play, is effective and holds one's attention. Stars Donald Cook and Genevieve Tobin.

It's almost certain that Agatha Christie did not see this 1932 movie which will inevitably remind the viewer of her classic murder mystery "and then there were none ": the unknown person who throws a party and invites people who have something to be guilty about; the similarities in the first part are striking : the host is not present ,there' s a voice out of a radio accusing the guests ,they cannot leave the penthouse (the doors are charged with electricity ) ,and of course,they begin to suspect each other.And let the countdown begin!

In fact , apart from the confessions , the development is closer to modern thrillers such as " saw" or the Spanish thriller "la habitacion de Fermat" .

The atmosphere itself is charged with electricity ;the only sound is the unbearable ticking of a clock ; the problem is that there is too little time to make acquaintance with the characters and the final confession is too hurried for comfort: if you have not read the book (very hard to find nowadays) ,it's sometimes difficult to follow the plot -the film hardly lasts 70 minutes.And it lacks the implacable mastery of Dame Christie .

Yet, her buffs should watch this because it contains the seeds of her 1939 masterful thriller.