The Girl Who Dared

"The Girl Who Dared" sounds more like a Western adventure instead of a B old-dark-house mystery, but the latter is what it is. This fast (under an hour), breezy film is something of a variation of "And Then There Were None," and actually beat the film version of the Agatha Christie novel to the screens by a year! It leaves no convention unexplored and no cliché unplumbed, and the identity of the killer is more random than motive-inspired. But it is competently done, with some interesting camera work for such a cheapie, and a couple decent plot twists. The trapping of the killer is unique, too. The cast performs competently, and some of the actors play against their usual types, particularly Roy Barcroft, normally a Western and Serial heavy who here plays the hotheaded, jealous ex-husband of one of the key characters, and Kirk "Superman" Alyn, as the equally hot-headed brother of the "Girl" of the title. John "Perry White" Hamilton also enjoys a larger and different kind of role than he was normally given. If only the filmmakers had been so generous with Willie Best, who once again shuffles around as a pop-eyed, comic relief servant who is afraid of his own shadow. All in all, it's worth an hour of a movie buff's time.

The other reviews raise pretty obviously legitimate criticisms of this film, but I love it to death. Plot-wise, it's not particularly ambitious, and the racist representation of the servant is cringe- worthy. But I strangely find the movie enchanting and can watch it over and over. It's gorgeously atmospheric--the kind of cinematography I just eat up. The love story is modestly feasible, with two likable actors inhabiting those roles. I try to watch as many "old dark house" films as I can, because I love the look of them, I love murder mysteries, and it's a nice way to understand some of the conventions, fashions, trends, and language of the 30s and 40s. Unfortunately this film is not available on DVD, as far as I can tell. It streams on amazon, but you never know when those things are going to disappear. Again, this film is not technically a *10*, but I find it beautiful and absorbing, with the quintessential "old dark house" elements pure and strong.

"Beau" (John Hamilton) and "Chattie" (Vivien Oakland) invite a rather eclectic mix of folks to join them for a party at their remote island home. Or do they? The arrival of their guests proves quite bemusing as they didn't actually ask anyone! Who has lured these people here and why? Well body number one arrives shortly afterwards (then disappears) and as others soon start to mount up, we have a mystery that it falls to mechanic "Blair" (Peter Cookson) and the suspicious "Ann" (Lorna Gray) to try and solve before they, too, go the way of the dodo at the hands of the famed ghost of this ramshackle pile. It's not very often we see a geiger counter feature in a murder mystery, but armed with it's glowing light and a bit of light-heartedness, we race through an hour amiably. Nobody will take any acting or writing plaudits from this, but as a standard Saturday afternoon feature, it does fine and probably have inspired countless editions of "Scooby Do"!

Okay, you've likely seen the format before—a creepy isolated house, a series of murders, an attractive cast that includes the murderer, and an amateur sleuth. But also throw in a batch of radium a full year before the A-bomb, plus a purported ghost, for good measure. Surprisingly, the rather murky whodunit is not uppermost, instead it's the characters and atmosphere. What it all adds up to is a decent little programmer for wartime audiences and even for later folks taking a break from the computer.

You just know from the outset that despite appearances Blair (Cookson) can't be the bad guy, he's just too good-looking. Besides, the winsome Ann (Gray) takes a shine to him, and you know how Hollywood is in that regard. It's an attractive cast of vets and up and comers, but I did get confused at times with the similar names and appearances. Plus, the reveal scene was much too brief, like someone's contract had suddenly run out. Nonetheless, that one ghost scene was truly spooky, along with the usual secret passages, shadowy rooms, and stormy nights. Come to think of it, I miss old b&w for the effects that color simply cannot duplicate—new Hollywood should loosen up! Anyway, it's a fun little hour with a gang of Hollywood pro's and an old dark house. So how can you lose.

Several people are invited to the home of Beau and Chattie Richmond for a party at which the "ghost of Heron Point" will make an appearance. The thing is - the Richmonds did not send out the invitations. The ghost is supposedly one of the crew of a pirate ship that sunk a hundred years ago near the Richmond estate. Then there's the mysterious mechanic who crashes the party. While the guests await for the ghost to appear, one of them is murdered but her body later disappears. Two more murders follow. This dark house type mystery is devoid of humor, has a thin and unbelievable plot, and a not really spooky atmosphere but is nonetheless mildly entertaining to watch because of the cast. Oh, there's Superman (Kirk Alyn), there's Perry White (John Hamilton), there's the guy that was in a gazillion Westerns (Roy Bancroft), there's Loretta Young's first husband and actor in dozens of B movies (Grant Withers), there's the brassy and always competent character actress Veda Ann Borg, and last, but not least, there's Willie Best as the servant who is always scared. At least the motive for the murder is somewhat innovative as is the ploy for identifying him. The lead characters, played by Peter Cookson and Lorna Gray are pretty bland. It is sad, though, to have to watch the talented comedian Willie Best as a shuffling, scared servant. This an actor who Bob Hope evidently referred to as one of the finest performers he ever worked with. What a waste and what a shame.