A Strange Adventure

"A Strange Adventure" is a 1930s B-movie with a very standard plot...in fact, hundreds of similar films were made during that decade. Because of this, fans of 1930s films might just feel underwhelmed by it...a case of 'been there, done that'.

A rich guy has brought all his hated family to his home to discuss his will and sign a new one. However, as he is signing, he collapses and a knife is found plunged into his chest...yet no one seemed to see who did it. A police detective (Regis Toomey) arrives to investigate and he brings along a couple dopey cops to help. Additionally, a spunky female reporter shows up and she just happens to be the detective's girlfriend.

As I said in the summary, pretty much all the usual cliches of these sorts of movies are present. Because of this, there are very few surprises. Additionally, much of the acting and dialog are on the cheesy side. As a result, it's not a film I'd recommend unless you want a simple, no demand time-passer.

By the way, Fred 'Snowflake' Toones appears in this one as comic relief. An adult man called 'Snowflake' and his antics (mostly being afraid of everything) are a sad sign of the times...when laughing at childish black men was considered not only acceptable but fun.

It's a short B mystery. Wealthy William V. Mong calls together his relatives to tell them that they're despicable and he's writing a new will. Before he can sign it, he collapses and dies. Detective Regis Toomey comes in to question them. While he is doing so, reporter June Clyde comes in, sasses him, and assists him in his investigation.

If you're looking for a script with plenty of red herrings and everyone a likely-looking suspect, this is a decent B movie for you. If you're looking for a decent mystery, in which the audience has all the clues before the murderer is announced, it fails. There's one key piece of evidence that is withheld until the murderer is caught.

It's co-directed by Sennett veterans Hampton Del Ruth and Phil Whitman; Del Ruth took a co-writing credit. The comedic larks are limited to Miss Clyde, who enters the crime scene by by claiming to be the widow of the murdered man, and by annoying Toomey by behaving like a naughty child. There's also 'Snowflake' Toones doing his cowardly bit. Other than that, it's one of those mysteries that could be a decent radio play ... except for the withheld clue.

Cameraman Leon Shamroy gets a few grace notes, with a camera that pans a bit and a couple of point-of-view shots. They may have satisfied him, but they don't add much.

So this film was made on Poverty Row, where actors went to make a quick buck when the big studios weren't underpaying them. The only thing that makes this film memorable compared to the dozens of others with more or less the same plot is the inclusion of Dwight Frye of Renfeild fame as one of the relatives.

An angry old man gathers his relatives for the reading of his will, after dissing many of them, he has a fainting spell and is found with a bad case of a dagger to the heart.

The rest of the movie is a detective and reporter romantic couple trying to unravel the case. It also includes a not-so-fun racist stereotype of the easily frightened black domestic employee... because that stuff was funny to people in the 1930's.

Like many of these early 1930's films, there's no music (they hadn't figured that out yet) and the blocking of the movie was more like a stage play.

Wayne Murder Case aka A Strange Adventure (1932)

However, his secretary has anticipated the reading and already switched the soon-to-be inherited diamond with a paste substitute. Silas (William V. Mong) is not that dumb and has sent for the police.

He still goes forward with the reading of his will, surrounded by relatives, associates, and the police. They all give him dirty looks and if looks could kill... Just before he signs the will Silas keels over. Everyone closes in with genuine concern that he is still alive.

Detective-Sergeant Mitchell (Regis Toomey) is assigned the case. And who should stick her nose in but a newspaper gal 'Nosey' Toodles (June Clyde)? She is determined to be the first to discover who dispatched Silas.

If you ask me there seems to be something going on between the two.

One of my favorite scenes is where the servant Jeff (Fred 'Snowflake' Toones) is confronted by a phantom waving its arms.

Another plus is that all the actors are displayed with their real names, instead of just a bunch of disembodies names scrolling on the screen.

They also hurried the story or this could have been an excellent case.

I'm fascinated by what cinema does to people, and therefore interested in how it has become what it is.

Some things are quite obvious, like why justice is served as visually violent death; why war and crime seem entangled with romance; why certain gauzy and pastel images imply sentiment.

Much more interesting are the things that have a non-obvious reason to be as they are.

This is a mystery, a detective sort of mystery from the first few years of talkies when the genre was experimental. It has many standard elements: a death seconds before a punitive will is signed. A death in plain view. All the suspects collected in the house. A surprise as to the murderer, motive and method.

But its also got some elements that would break out on there own as sort or independent memes. One is the brash girl reporter, sexy and who has the hots for the chief detective. Her name is "Nosey Toodles." She's most of the entertainment, and its easy to see how this could develop a life of its own.

The other element is the one that interests me. All the suspects and the detectives are locked in the house, and the murderer skulks about in a black-hooded ghost costume. There are knives, young women at risk while sleeping, and an obligatory black servant who runs away bug-eyed and sputtering.

Now, the setup of the murder is contrived for the film audience in most details. But somehow that's of a less radical idea than having murderer conceal his or her face and body. There's only one reason to hide, and that's from the audience. There's only one reason to slither about with spooky gestures down a vacant hallway. Us.

I believe that these two theatrical devices, the murder and the "ghost" became linked in plays that were precisely copied in the early talking cinema, when plays could be appropriated.

What's interesting is that this hooded figure, slashing about has spun into its own genre, maintaining the mystery of identity, The cloak and mannerisms are precisely the same as in "Scream." The only difference now is that instead of the racist bug-eyed servant, we have the sexist bug-eyed and screaming slut.

The production here is poor, and there are better examples of this.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.