Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

museumofdave This little mystery is great fun, and zips along familiar cinematic paths with professional skill, all the Warner technicians called into play to fashion a quickie "B" mystery with some of the best of the character actors around, and one new guy, Turhan Bey, who was still wet behind the ears, but managed to be "clever and cunning" and craftily mysterious.From the opening shots on a foggy wharf, with a mysterious large box hoisted off as ship and into a truck, the extremely mobile camera transports us quickly to an English boarding house crammed with lamps and antimacassars and ferns and portraits and zooms from upstairs to downstairs and in and out of doors as suspects in a crime skulk about and share concerns and accusations with mild hysteria lurking just below their civilized surfaces.But this is not a serious film; it is a fast-paced gem full of strange relationships, a murder or two, folks running about in disguises, and, at last, a clueless police force showing up as things get out of hand, a couple of bodies in locked upstairs rooms. I was never bored, was often amused, had a devil of a time attempting to pin down who-done-it, and much enjoyed the offbeat characters written into the script. Would that much of today's major films had the virtues of succinctness!

Leofwine_draca SHADOWS ON THE STAIRS is an acceptable and light murder mystery from the era which is worthy of Agatha Christie or one of her imitators. It's an American production masquerading as a British one, although I admit the accents had me fooled, but the extra budget means that the camera-work is better and the film is of a higher visual quality throughout than to be expected.The action is centred in and around a boarding house occupied by a number of guests, all of whom have their own motives and machinations. It's almost like the board game Cluedo put up on screen. After a time, one of the leading players is found murdered in his own bedroom, so the police investigate and learn one of the other inhabitants is responsible.There are some solid mystery elements included in the film, particularly my favourite moment with the spooky figure in the black shawl who goes creeping in and out of rooms. Unfortunately some of the acting - particularly on the part of the female cast members - is rather overdone and histrionic at times. But there's a solid denouement and good work from the likes of character actor Turhan Bey, which keep you glued to the screen.

dbborroughs In a boarding house in London in 1937 all is night quiet. The boarders and the landlords are all enmeshed in plots of love, lust and greed. It isn't long before bodies begin piling up.Unremarkable, but rather enjoyable little mystery based upon a stage play called Murder on the Second Floor, which is the floor that all of the boarders stay on. I went into the film knowing next to nothing about the plot and had myself a really good time. Forgive me for not giving more details as to the plot but since the film is so convoluted it takes a good long while before you can really get a handle on who is who and who is doing what. I think had I known what was going on at the get go I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much, part of the fun was waiting to see what was actually going on. It is all explained, a bit too nicely, but considering the denouncement, understandably.Definitely worth a look see if you like mysterious mysteries of a contrived sort.6.5 or so out of 10, 6 out of ten for IMDb purposes.

Hitchcoc This is a stagy film with a group of idiosyncratic characters, roaming around a boarding house. Everyone is a suspect; everyone has some strange being about them. When a man is murdered, a group of buffoonish police infiltrate the house and act like Pirates of Panzance idiots. Don't even try to talk about motivations or realities because you won't find them here. We have, of course, the handsome smug young man who is "writing his play." If this is what he came up with the cop who implies that he has no profession is probably right. The acting is stilted. Some of the characters are strictly comic and there are those long pauses for us to laugh. Whether we should hold this to today's standards or not isn't the issue. There were well-done films in 1941 as well as now. This just lacked pizazz. And the ending is most disappointing.