Le spectre vert

THE STORY & GENRE -- Someone is murdering members of the old army regiment. Real hypnotic power, phony seance and ghosts. Lionel Barrymore directs. Roland Young, Boris Karloff star.

THE VERDICT -- Great atmosphere but very talky, and could've been wrapped up in an hour.

FREE ONLINE -- Yes, 93 minutes (TCM print commonly), sound. Silent version does not appear to have survived.

THE UNHOLY NIGHT (aka: GREEN GHOST) is one of the earlier in a long line of "old dark house"-type movies. This time, a thick fog settles over London, and a killer takes advantage of the cover, strangling a number of unwary victims. The scene switches to the obligatory mansion, where a group of soldiers have gathered for a reunion. As often happens in these films, a will is introduced, and a mysterious figure apparently starts murdering them.

It's all fairly enjoyable in a mindless way, but the real highlight is a cameo from Boris Karloff. While his character isn't in it for long, he certainly makes the best of it. He's basically the world's creepiest lawyer. The rest is a silly yarn, but Mr. Karloff is superb...

On a foggy night in London, five men are strangled. Four die but the fifth (Roland Young) escapes. Turns out the men all served together in the same regiment years before. Now Scotland Yard gathers the other men from the regiment together at Young's house to figure out the killer.

Nice old dark house mystery with a creepy pre-credits ghost and effective opening few minutes. This was directed by Lionel Barrymore. He only directed a handful of movies and nothing past 1931. Which is a shame because, if this is any indication, he had talent as a director. It does creak some, being an early talkie, but it's still worth checking out. Boris Karloff has an uncredited part as a Hindu lawyer named Abdul. I love Karloff but this is one of his worst performances. He's so over the top you just have to see it for yourself.

This very early talkie mystery-thriller was directed by Lionel Barrymore, and is quite well acted and written if one has a taste for old-fashioned melodrama and barnstorming ham. A fascinating period piece, which, if one likes the period, is priceless.

Aka..."Green Ghost"

Of Course "Hollywood" and "The Movies" Would Capitulate Completely to the "Bible-Thumpers", Those Self-Imposed Over-Seers from "The Moral Majority", and Ironically Would Become...

"The Most Popular Art-Form of the 20th Century"

One has to Wonder and Report that "Bending Over Backwards" was a Painful "Lock-Step". Because "The Code" was Rigid, All-Encompassing and "Commanding".

The Code was Impossibly Restraining, and Uncompromising. Without the "Codes" Approval there was No Chance of Recouping Production-Cost, or God-Forbid, a "Profit"...No-Code, No-Distribution, No-Profit.

Probably Unconstitutional Under the 1st Amendment, it had a Stranglehold of Evil on the Art-Form for 25 Years and Hampered, if Not Surely "Castrated" the Ability to Freely Express and the Result was Producing and Exhibiting a "False-Front" of a Reality that Did-Not-Exist. Except in the Minds of Fascists, Control-Freaks, and Fundamentally a Figment of Christian-Idealism.

1929...It's the Year of "The Talkies" or as Ballyhooed..."All Talking-All Singing-All Dancing" and the Transitional "Growing Pains" were All Over All of the Movies in that Land-Mark Year.

Not Only Technically, but Presented Unanswered Questions...What Do Audiences Want"...What will They Tolerate?... It was Unexplored Territory for the Hybrid, so there was a Goodly Amount of Experimentation and Blind-Ambition.

This Story, an "Old-Dark-House" Type was Popular, Common, and a Path Well Traveled In-Print and On-Stage, was Made by "Money-Bags" MGM (More Stars than in the Heavens!), Directed by Celebrated Actor Lionel Barrymore, from a Story by Ben Hecht.

The Movie Looks and Sounds Better than Most of the "Crop" of Cinema in those Early-Days, a Well-Polished, Slick Presentation with an Over-Use of Sing-Along Camaraderie alongside Spooky Spiritualism, and Mystery-Thriller Tropes.

It's a "Talky-Talkie-Type", Typical of the Genre, a Few Surprises, and a "Cameo" by Boris Karloff (pre Frankenstein).

A bit Over-Long, but a Not-Bad Artifact Experience during a Period of Historical Significance, when Movies were Learning to Talk.

"The Code" was Fermenting, and Despite 'Prohibition" in America...Drinking was Celebrated, Embraced, and Promoted, Glorified, and Considered Good-Natured-Fun by "The People".

There is a Lot of That Here along with Other Ingredients that Make this...

Worth a Watch.