Morte nas Sombras

The only big name i recognize in here is Hedda Hopper, who had started with bit parts in the silent films, become pretty well known years later, and then started her own "woman about town" gossip column, now playing herself in later films. (Gotta see he in "The Women" !) In "Dark Hour", two old timers are watching over their neice "Elsa", played by Irene Ware. ( Ware was apparently Miss United States 1926. ) Elsa will inherit EVERYTHING when the uncles go, so they are concerned that she might some bad decisions... and then... something TERRIBLE happens... and everyone tries to figure out who dunnit! Picture and sound quality are pretty turrible... but it's not so bad. Based on a novel by Sinclair Gluck.. couldn't find any info about him; this seems to be the only thing of his made into a film. Directed by Charles Lamont. He had been around in silents since the 1920s, writing and directing. Worked with some of the biggies in comedy and drama. Dark Hour is "okay"... it's just like every single "thin man", or any who-dunnit ever written. nothing in the middle really happens until the last five minutes when everything comes together. It's not so bad.

Chesterfield does it again--a tidy whodunit that, surprisingly, holds up pretty well despite its age. The race between the two detectives is quite droll and interesting; it shows, once again, that the fundamental lesson of integration between the old and the new still applies--regardless of decade and/or century. Of course, as the film was lensed nearly 70 years ago, some of the technical aspects of the plot do not age well. And, unless I missed something, I would have preferred a little more detail into the motive for the crime. Despite these minor quibbles, it was a relatively enjoyable 71 minutes, especially when Hedda Hopper was chewing up the scenery.l

Some genuinely inspired bad acting doesn't prevent 1936's "The Dark House" from showering a few sparks of real originality. Two elderly brothers and their niece reside in a mansion. They're fearful something bad will happen and they're right. Two murders take place, neither appearing to have occurred as first thought.

This is a good house murder mystery. Elsa (the very beautiful and former Miss United States, Irene Ware) is falling in love with a detective, Jim Landis (Ray Walker). Elsa regularly meets Jim at retired detective Paul Bernard's house (he's played by Burton Churchill). Elsa's putative guardians, her uncles, don't like this developing match one bit. Of course their time together is as chaste as many moviegoers (and the moralistic censor-type folks) demanded.

One death having led to another, the two sleuths wisely combine forces to find the killer and figure out why the murders occurred in the first place. The plot is a bit tricky. Adding to the mystery is the possible role of Elsa's aunt, Mrs. Tallman. Here is a real treat-she's Hedda Hopper, once dubbed the "Queen of the Quickies," a woman who made a number of forgettable features before discovering that the printed word was mightier than fleeting celluloid images. For decades she and Louella Parsons battled for scoops as Hollywood's prime, incendiary gossip columnists.

Walker is the really weak actor here. He performs with a deadening numbness that made me wish he was the killer who would be executed on-screen. But his interaction with the retired senior cop is both interesting and dramatically effective.

Charles Lamont, born in Russia, was a veteran director who turned out many "B" flicks and some better comedies during a very long career (he did a number of the Abbott and Costello and Ma and Pa Kettle flicks). He's famously forgotten today for such films as the deservedly rarely viewed "I Was a Shoplifter" that brought young Tony Curtis to the screen. In "The Dark Hour" he crafted an interesting murder mystery. If you can get it as I did for $4.99 on DVD (thanks again, Alpha Video) it's worth your time just to see Hedda Hopper disporting herself as a grand dame but maybe I'm just dating myself.

6/10

If you enjoy old mystery movies and like your mystery with a little light humor, this film will please you. There are plenty of unusual characters and twists to the story that will keep you amused if not confused. The characters are well played and the story is quite intriguing. Unlike most of today's movies that rely on special effects, this film lets the story and characters set up the mood for the film, and by doing so sets up some unexpected situations such as two detectives trying to solve the mystery. One is an older fellow, the other younger. Instead of teaming together, they work independently for the most part and compare notes, each feeling the other out. There is the usual romantic interests as well, and all ingredients are made to blend pretty well. There is indeed a lot going on in this old film , as you will see.

This mystery film is unusual is that there are two quite different (old & retired vs. young & active on the police force) detectives on the case, & they are both competent & work well together. Usually, Hollywood would be expected to have at least one of them take the comic element, but here they are both serious & both effective! Aside from trying to guess "who done it?," the viewer also finds him/herself wondering which of the two detectives will solve the case first, & this aspect adds to the excitement. There are plenty of suspects here, & the film moves along briskly. Berton Churchill is especially good as the older detective, & reminds me of a smaller version of the great Sydney Greenstreet. I rate this 8/10.