The Phantom

A prisoner named the Phantom is moments away from going to the chair when he climbs over the wall, jumps on top of a passing train and makes a get away when a plane flies down and picks him up. He then threatens the DA, even though he's not the DA who sent him up the river...and then things get complicated.

This is a movie from the early days of sound. Using silent footage with sound effects it broadens what could be done at reasonable expense with the then bulky sound equipment. As a result this film does things that many similar movies from the period couldn't, it goes outside the drawing room, the best example is the jail break at the beginning.

But while it goes places that other films didn't, and it has more twists than a pretzel factory, this film suffers from the same problem that countless other lower budget films did, and that is its limited by sound itself. There is no music and many scenes are staged simply to have people talk, a sequence at the beginning in the newspaper editor's office for example, goes on way too long just so we can hear the characters talking on the phone.

The movie itself is interesting up to a point, but at times it seems to want to get as many of the mystery conventions into the movie as possible so things keep spinning out for no real reason other than to make the film reach a reasonable length. The problem is that as interesting as the plot is, the film's age hinders full enjoyment of it.

If you're in the mood for an antique give it a try, otherwise steer clear.

When a dangerous killer escapes from the local gaol, police suspect he may come after the DA as retribution for his incarceration. Assigned to protect the DA (Lucas), bull-nose detective (O'Brien) settles in for a long night that ends up turning into a fracas when "The Phantom" enters the house via a secret labyrinth of ducts and concealed passages, threatening the DA's daughter (Ray) before disappearing into the night. Fortunately, novice reporter (Williams) has a hunch "The Phantom" might be heading for a local mental sanitarium leading to a terrifying encounter with the residents of the local loony-bin.

There's some mild chuckles and feint thrills in his uneven comedy-thriller, but the acting seems quite stilted at times and the tension seems to be constantly nobbled by ill-timed humour. Williams is the strongest performer as the young, assertive reporter keen to solve the mystery to earn a pay increase that will fund his ensuing matrimonials with the DA's daughter.

I found the jittery housekeeper (Knights) a tad over-bearing, her incessant shrills and dramatics becoming old very quickly, while combined with her vertically challenged boyfriend, the Chauffeur Shorty (Dunn) the pair added a touch of farce to the proceedings that I felt were unnecessary diversions (perhaps padding). Nevertheless, it's coherent and at barely one hour in duration, nothing if not efficient.

I would think that for the people of 1931, this would be quite a movie. The beginning (as many have already stated), was quite exciting - even by today's standards. Then the movie drags a bit.

But my reason for writing this review is only to add that the eclectic cast is worth watching. You can see the obvious influence of the silent era in their expressions and actions/reactions.

But to me, Lucy (played by Violet Knights) almost steals the show. She seems to me a very funny actress. I hope to get to see her in something else some time. However, I suspect this is probably her crowning achievement as an actress, as she made less than ten talking pictures, and was only credited in two of them. I know her acting is overboard, but her expressions and manners are worth the watching of this movie to me. Without her, I would probably give this movie only one or two stars.

The strange Swede (William Jackie?) is also a great comic in this, his only credited role (according to IMDb).

If you like unusual characters, I think this is definitely a movie worth a watch. Don't expect a great story - as others have mentioned, the plot is a bit over-used. But the cast to me is not a disappointment.

Here's a film from the early sound era. This one, I'm pretty sure, was from good old Poverty Row, purveyors of wads of borderline unwatchable dreck from the olden days. This one was a little bit better than most of these cheapo programme filler efforts, as it has just enough interest to get it over the line but don't get me wrong, this is ropey stuff in many respects. It tells the tale of a prison break, where a convict escapes (in an impressively dangerous looking bit of stunt work involving being lifted on a bit of rope attached to a plane, from a speeding train), soon after this a mysterious villain called The Phantom begins a terror campaign. To a large extent, this is one of those tried and tested old dark house movies, which were a staple of many a low budget pot-boiler in the 30's. To this end, we have a large cast of characters in a big house, with secret passages, a cloaked villain and a cowardly maid (and chaffuer) - i.e. Aside from having a man in a gorilla suit, this features typical nonsense which many of these films have. But there's enough oddball extras to keep this interesting enough, like the creepy bellhop, with the bizarre accent. Its really not bad, as these types of old school Poverty Row efforts go.

I just read all of the other reviews to verify my premise, which turned out to be true. They all take the position that this movie is pretty awful on many levels. Well, sure it is since it is obviously a spoof and a send-up. Taking it seriously is a preposterous mistake of judgment. For whatever reason the director chose to go beyond all the limits and that is what gives him away. Maybe just to have fun, maybe to get even with the studio for some transgression, could have been anything. Like it or hate it as you choose but take a chill pill and recognize that your leg has been properly pulled!