Notte gialla

"An aging eccentric millionaire gathers his heirs and informs them that he intends to give his fortune to his granddaughter, if she appears before midnight, otherwise the five of them will split the estate. Two women arrive claiming to be the long-lost granddaughter, which upsets all of the other relatives. When one of the women ends up dead, suspicion falls upon everyone who potentially would benefit form the elimination of the other heirs," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

For the umpteenth time, a group of interconnecting people gather at a spooky mansion, hope to collect a fortune, and become murder victims (or suspects) - it's a very familiar plot. But, "One Frightened Night" manages to always seem cleverer than it is. Director Christy Cabanne, who was often hired to keep thing moving, does just that, while managing to throw in some of the flair he more often neglected. It's nice to see an older actor, Charley Grapewin (as Jasper Wythe), taking the lead; and, the rest of the cast circumvents him well.

***** One Frightened Night (1935) Christy Cabanne ~ Charley Grapewin, Mary Carlisle, Wallace Ford

This has a terrific opening with the credits played onto a window and it's shade during a storm. Those mugshots of the actors being introduced to us are good and a little creepy in some cases.

Jasper Whyte invites his relatives to his house. He wants to spread his wealth among them before the new inheritance comes into force at midnight. His plans go awry when his long lost granddaughter turns up to change his mind. Then another complication results in a murder which occurs just before the half-hour mark.

Charley Grapewin is very good as the old buzzard Jasper. He played Ellery Queen's father in the detective series from 1940 to 1942. Jasper is definitely the pick of the characters for me. He describes his family as a hungry pack of wolves as he takes delight in taking back the million dollars each he has just given them when his plans are about to be changed.

The comedy isn't overplayed and doesn't interfere with the mystery aspect of the story too much. The action includes a faked identity and poisoned coffee and a locked room murder. There are some good moments which almost tempts me to take it to the next level of rating. But it just falls short of the country house thriller classics of the period.

And featuring the likeable clown from Freaks. What more could one ask? A low-budget Old Dark House mystery that is better than it needs to be, with sharp dialogue and engaging characters...can't go wrong!

Why can't all B pictures be this good?

As Old Dark House movies go, it's not bad. It has the intriguing plot of having a group of no goods, needing money, having it given to them by the old rich man, and then having it plucked away. A murder is committed and then all the fun starts. There are secret closets and passages. There are dumb policemen and their partners. There are suspects all over the place. There's the guy who was Dorothy's uncle in "The Wizard of Oz." We never know who to suspect. I have to admit that I felt sorry for some of the people who were going to get the money and then were aced out by a young woman, the granddaughter of the old man. I felt the housekeeper got a raw deal since she is treated pretty shabbily throughout. Even when we find out who did it, it's a little disappointing. The fun was "not" knowing. Nevertheless, there's lots of action and enough humor to make it fun. It's better than most of its ilk.

Unlike today, back in film's golden age, there were always roles for older character actors. Charley Grapewin - even in uncredited parts, he was easily recognisable and when he had a featured part (as the amiable granddad in "The Night of June 13th" (1931), who decides to tell the people in the street some home truths) he was very memorable. Lucien Littlefield also made a career out of character parts (Cupido the barber in "Torrent" (1926) and "The Cat and the Canary" (1927)).

In this film Grapewin has the lead role as Jasper, a crotchety head of a family, who are planning how to spend his money before he is dead. Jasper has a surprising announcement - he is going to give each of his relatives a $1 million before he dies!!! But if his granddaughter can be found, it all goes to her!!! Lucien Littlefield for once playing his right age, plays Dr. Denham.

Before the night is over, Mr. Felix (Clarence Wilson) is knocking at the door with the long lost granddaughter (Evalyn Knapp) - or is she!!!

Downstairs, trouble is brewing - everyone has a desperate need of the $1 million gift. Arthur Proctor (Arthur Hohl) has lost money in some business venture and his wife (Hedda Hopper) is worried he will do something foolish. Suddenly Doris Waverley 2 (beautiful Mary Carlisle, looking a treat) turns up, then the Great Luvalle (Wallace Ford), looking for her. Before Jasper can take Doris upstairs to have it out with her double, the first Doris is killed by fast acting poison.

A belligerent policeman (Fred Kelsey, whose most memorable role was the house detective in the "Honeymoon Hotel" sequence in "Footlight Parade") is trying to interview people. Everyone is acting pretty innocent. Tom (Regis Toomey) the black sheep of the family is romancing Doris - or is he just after her inheritance, and the Great Luvalle is determined to find the real killer!!!

It is a pretty good film - all the players have enough time to establish their characters. Rafaela Ottiano is particularly good as Elvira, the creepy maid.

Very Recommended.