UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

kevin olzak 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 "The Crime of Helen Stanley" is also available, one can judge the series by only two 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.

kidboots For all June Collyer's second billing she didn't have much to do as the bewildered heiress in this first Columbia entry in a short series featuring Ralph Bellamy as laid back Inspector Trent. Still, she was definitely easy on the eyes and she would soon retire from movies to concentrate on being Mrs. Stuart Erwin. In 1934 "The Thin Man" showed how witty and stylish mysteries could be but for now (1933) policemen were very straight down the line.When a young rookie cop demands a promotion for solving the "Penthouse" murder, his superior pulls him back into line by telling him the story of the Arnold case. Inspector Trent arrives at Forest Lake on a stormy night "just the night for a murder" at the request of Mr. Arnold, who is convinced someone is trying to kill him. He has seen all the signs - a stopped clock, a pool of blood under a portrait and with a storm battered window and a flash of light, Mr. Arnold lies dead.This movie isn't half as exciting as "The Crime of Helen Stanley", an Inspector Trent set in a movie studio and featuring a temperamental movie star (Gail Patrick). This particular mystery features the old standby, a secret diary that everyone, except the wide eyed Janet (Collyer), wants to get their hands on. There's the usual suspects, a crooked lawyer, mysterious Mrs. Fry (silent screen beauty Betty Blythe), a young doctor, who seems to have all the evidence stacked against him as he just happens to be treating Mr Arnold and a nervous Japanese houseboy Kono. The only person who seems to be taking a back seat is Mr. Fry (Claude Dillingwater, who I could remember as the crusty old Mr. Peck in Shirley Temple's "The Poor Little Rich Girl") and he is the key to the whole mystery. Ralph Bellamy is at the start of a long career and even in this he is never anything less than dependable.

GManfred 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.

dbborroughs The film is told in flashback by a chief of police to a detective looking for a promotion. The Arnold case, he says is the sort of case that when solved warrants a promotion. Ralph Bellamy is Inspector Trent of the New York Detective Bureau. Called to Forest Lake and the Arnold residence, Trent is asked to look into a possible murder in the offing. It seems Arnold is a superstitious man and any time blood was found under the portrait on an ancestor the head of the house hold dies the next day. Time is running out. As Arnold shows Trent the second part of the superstition, a clock that stops a minute before the murder, the clock stops, a window bursts open and Arnold dies.A complicated and pre-code murder mystery this is almost a straight forward police procedural as we watch Trent try to solve the case. Bellamy plays Trent in a no nonsense hard boiled style that is atypical of mysteries of this sort. Of course there is no way to know whats going on since some of the goings on are so convoluted that you can't figure it out unless they tell you. Still its a good movie who's complication keep you interested. Certainly not a great film, it is a very good one that bears a second viewing just so you can see what you missed.Definitely worth seeing.6.5 out out of 10 rounded up to 7 out of 10 for IMDb purposes