mark.waltz It's been thirteen years since an unsolved murder where the thirteenth guest never showed up and now, the murders start all over again. It all starts with the electrocution death of Ginger Rogers, yet nothing is as it seems. The surviving family gathers together, presumably to mourn Rogers, but the family has a few surprises in store, particularly the possibility that one of them is the killer. With detective Lyle Talbot on the case (surrounded by several buffoon police officers), the killer is bound to make mistakes.Monogram, who produced many old dark house thrillers like this, actually did this story twice, one again a decade later. All the archetypes of this type of film are there, but never was the dialog as sardonic as this. That keeps it quite fresh, and it ranks above most of the others. Of course with young Ginger in an early role, the curiosity value is up, and she doesn't disappoint. Slightly creaky, it still remains entertaining thanks to some racy dialog and a family that can only be described as nuts.

ksf-2 minor spoiler Ginger Rogers in one of her VERY early roles. She hadn't yet turned into the shrew that tormented Fred Astaire in all their dance films. Sound and picture quality are pretty rough, but as we see from the TRIVIA section, as it is now in public domain, anyone can make a (crappy) copy and sell it for profit. She arrives at a dark, dirty house, late at night, and finds an envelope marked "to be opened on Marie's 21st birthday". A shot rings out, and her taxi driver goes for the cops. The adventure begins. They bring in investigator Phil Winston (Lyle Talbot, in one of HIS early roles. ) We hear the history of the family and the house from the local policeman. I thought it was odd that even though they found the dead chick sitting in a chair, they knew right off that she had been electrocuted, in spite of the fact that the doctor says "enough to kill her but not enough to leave any marks." I would have thought that an autopsy would have necessary to find that... but I'm not a physician. The whole story revolves around a dinner party where they invited thirteen guests, but the thirteenth guest never showed up. Along the way, another girl shows up and looks JUST like the first girl found d-e-d dead. Not a bad film, but some things move pretty slowly. It's a Monogram shortie, at 69 minutes. Not bad who-dunnit, but a few cracks in the woodwork, so don't take it too seriously. And being pre-code, there are a couple naughty references in here if you pay attention.Directed by Albert Ray, a prolific actor, director, writer, who had started in silents, and moved into talkies. He died quite young at 46, but I haven't been able to find the cause of death.

Scarecrow-88 Nifty little whodunit, featuring a young Ginger Rogers as an heir to a fortune, targeted by a hooded killer who hides in a hidden room behind a book case electrocuting those who answer a wired steel phone once he purposely triggers it to ring. Rogers is Marie, the daughter of a wealthy father who arranged a will reading with twelve guests at the family's dinner table, only to drop dead before getting to announce who got what. A thirteenth chair was open and her father left his entire fortune to the absent occupant. The only option to securing that fortune is to get rid of everyone in line to receive it. Marie was left with a peculiar letter which worked as some sort of code, perhaps to a hidden safe. The killer obviously wants the inheritance, but another mystery arises..on the night of her 21st birthday, someone shot at Marie, with her narrowly escaping, and a person, with extensive plastic surgery to resemble her was electrocuted on accident. The complex case is under the investigation of private dick, Phil Winston(Lyle Talbot), a dapper detective who is often called on by Police Captain Ryan(J Farrell MacDonald)when he needs special help solving a difficult murder. Ryan must endure the ineptitude of his partner Detective Grump(Paul Hurst, the comedy relief of the film), who falls asleep on the job and isn't very reliable in following instructions..Ryan must tolerate his stupidity because Grump is the relative of his superior. Meanwhile, the relatives of Marie's father arrive and are under suspicion..there's a murderer among them, yet the innocent among them must be protected. We, along with Winston, realize upon their joining together that Marie's family loathe each other, constantly, through clever and vicious ways, insulting one another. Winston somehow must put aside his distaste for these greedy vultures and find the killer, while also uncovering the mystery behind the "substitute" for Marie who was electrocuted.Clocking at little over an hour, this mystery has all the interesting trappings associated with pulp crime novels. The number of suspects and red herrings. The rising death toll as the race to solve the case becomes ever so important. Adding the clues up one by one and soon discovering(..through a mistake by the killer who left the switch on with the result being another accidental murder)where the hiding place of the murderer is located. The damsel in distress. The intelligent, wise detective with a knack for getting to the bottom of things no matter how complex they might seem. The identity of the thirteenth guest may not be that mind-blowing, but getting to that point is a lot of fun. Hurst is injected into the plot as a way to ease the morbidity of the material, his bumbling antics on display to rile up poor MacDonald who just wants to strangle him sometimes.The eccentricities of the suspects, and their treatment of one another add much to the entertainment of this little-known gem. Rogers, who isn't in the film as much as her top billing would surmise, still shows the spunk and charm that would later become so visible in her films with Fred Astaire. Talbot fills the William Powell role of classy, sophisticated sleuth, liquor always at his disposal, and a way of dealing with situations when they get out of hand. I'm guessing this flick is not particularly well known and could be of certain value to fans of these types of films. Some of the comedy is a bit dated, but I will admit to be amused for the most part.

Norm-30 This is one of Roger's & Talbot's earliest film and, by far the best of the "13th Guest" films" (several remakes were done).At a dinner party many years ago, 13 people were invited, but only 12 showed up. The host died at the table, and the house was closed up for many, many years. Then, the bodies of the people who attended that dinner party started turning up in that abandoned house, sitting in the same chairs they occupied so long ago.It turns out they are being murdered by a black-cloaked figure who just MIGHT have been one of dinner guests. He peers out thru a secret viewing hole, and cackles insanely after he murders someone.A very, very eerie film!