Before Midnight

Before Midnight was the first movie in a short franchise based around Detective Trent.

It's an hour long old school murder mystery tale where our lead must solve the murder of a man who moments before predicted his own death.

This really is the definition of a "Whodunnit" style film, with all the potential suspects lined up, nobody entirely innocent, secrets are revealed and motives become apparent.

The cast is strong and the story is great, but it sadly all falls apart at the end. The big revelation is really quite weak and damages the film.

Regardless I'm looking forward to the remaining three movies in the series and very much hope the writing improves.

The Good:

Charming old school feel

The Bad:

Weak finale

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Cases can be settled with bullet

Good, tight murder mystery that is brief and no-nonsense in its approach. It is a pre-code film but there's nothing here that might have been objectionable at the time. Also missing is the 30's habit of inserting comic relief into a story that doesn't need any, and this one doesn't need it. George Cooper plays Stubby, a dim-witted assistant detective who comes off as dim-witted but not as comic relief.

Ralph Bellamy is Detective Trent, trying to solve a murder that takes place on a dark and stormy (and very noisy) night in a mansion with the usual suspects roaming around. What strikes you is the tone of all players, and especially Bellamy, as there is not a hint of the good-natured warmth or friendliness normally found in most pictures of this or any other kind - just a group grimly determined to get to the bottom of the proceedings. No jokes, no romance, just the facts.

Nevertheless, it is well worth your time. It is an old-fashioned whodunnit that will challenge your own powers of deduction - and no laughing, please.

From Nov 1933-Aug 1934, Columbia released a forgotten quartet of features starring dependable Ralph Bellamy in the role of Inspector Steve Trent, with "Before Midnight" the first, followed by "One is Guilty," "The Crime of Helen Stanley," and "Girl in Danger." Since only "One is Guilty" is unavailable, one can judge the series by at least three titles, but it's clear that this modest initial entry has more horror touches in its setup. On a dark and stormy night, Inspector Trent is called to the isolated mansion of Edward Arnold (William Jeffrey), who believes he's soon to be murdered based on a family curse involving a pool of blood and a clock that stops. Director Lambert Hillyer proves he was no slouch at delivering oppressive atmosphere (better known for "The Invisible Ray" and "Dracula's Daughter"), and the whodunit aspects are also first rate. Lovely leading lady June Collyer starred opposite Bela Lugosi in a 1935 mystery, "Murder by Television," before giving up acting to enjoy life as the wife of Stuart Erwin. Bellamy solved quite a few cases ("Rendezvous at Midnight," "The Final Hour") before he started playing detective Ellery Queen in 1940, eventually settling into a solid character career that lasted 60 years.

The action takes place at a country house in Forest Hills 50 miles from New York. It begins with Mr Arnold the owner telling Inspector Trent that he is afraid that a family curse may come true. Mr Arnold is frightened for his life as he has been warned of his imminent death. His grandfather died in mysterious circumstances after a pool of fresh blood had appeared on the floor and the house's main clock had stopped as omens of his death. Now people have gathered at Mr Arnold's house on a stormy night when Mr Arnold dies apparently of a heart attack brought on by fright after the same ominous signs occur.

This mystery poses some intriguing questions for us. What is it about Mr Arnold's 35 year stay in China that would have anything to do with his death? What is so sinister about the Buddha incense burner alone when there are other incense burners in the house? What is the item in Mr Arnold's room that is of interest to people who go there to search for it?

There are some of the usual 1930s country house thriller characters in this. The house staff are a housekeeper and a maid and a Japanese houseboy but no sinister butler this time round. Among the other suspects are a secretary and an attorney and a doctor. Be prepared to be baffled by whether people are who they appear to be or not. This is a good atmospheric whodunit from the Columbia Studio.

Before Midnight (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A man invited Detective Trent (Ralph Bellamy) over to share his fears that he's about to be murdered. A few minutes later the man is dead and it's up to the detective to try and figure out how he was murder and who did it. This is yet another entry in the seemingly never-ending "old dark house" genre. As usual, we're given a murder, a hero and countless suspects. We also get the usual clichés that you find in a film like this. I've seen dozens, if not hundreds of these films and it's hard to find one that offers up anything new original and this one here is no different. Even though the film doesn't offer anything too new, it does feature a couple very good twists that I didn't see coming and Bellamy is as entertaining as always. I think what really makes the film work is the performance by Bellamy who really knows how to mix up the charm, comedy and seriousness. He does very good with the role and manages to work well with all the other actors and can deliver whatever the film is needing in any scene. June Collyer is pretty good as the woman various men want and Claude Gillingwater is good in his role as well. Fred "Snowflake" Toones plays the black taxi driver and delivers most of the "comedy" in the film. The screenplay pretty much follows every "old dark house" film that preceded it as we get a complicated murder, the investigation and countless people lying to try and cover up their involvement. What was so funny here is that the screenplay was quite lazy in terms of the characters and their lies. A character would start lying to cover up what he did, Bellamy would ask a single question and then the character would break down and admit what they did. This happens at least five times in the film and one begins to wonder why at least one of them wouldn't try to get away with the lie at least a second time before admitting what they had done. This Columbia film runs a brief 63-minutes and should keep fans of the genre entertained. Others should probably seek out one of the better entries.