The Missing Guest
The Missing Guest is a 1938 American mystery-comedy film directed by John Rawlins. [1] It is a remake of the 1933 film Secret of the Blue Room.
| The Missing Guest | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | John Rawlins |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Secret of the Blue Room by Erich Philippi |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Milton Krasner[1] |
| Edited by | Frank Gross[1] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 68 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[2] |
Synopsis
A newspaper reporter is sent by his editor to spend a night in a country house where a notorious murder had been committed exactly twenty years before.
Cast
- Paul Kelly as 'Scoop' Hanlon
- Constance Moore as Stephanie Kirkland
- William Lundigan as Larry Dearden
- Edwin Stanley as Dr. Carroll
- Selmer Jackson as Frank Baldrich
- Billy Wayne as 'Vic'
- George Cooper as 'Jake'
- P.J. Kelly as Edwards - the Butler
- Florence Wix as Linda Baldrich
- Harlan Briggs as Frank Kendall - Editor
- Pat C. Flick as Nikolaus Popoulos - Inventor
- John Harmon as Baldrich's Guard
- Guy Usher as Police Inspector McDonald
Production
The Missing Guest was the first of two remakes of the 1933 film Secret of the Blue Room.[1][3] The film was budgeted at $80,4000 and was completed under budget, at $72,000.[4]
Music in The Missing Guest is recycled from previous films including Werewolf of London and Dracula's Daughter.[4]
Reception
From contemporary reviews, "Hobe." of Variety referred to the film as a "feeble whodunnit for bottom billing" and that "Every outdated [haunted house] situation and piece of business is included - not only included, but embarrassingly highlighted."[1][4] The New York World-American stated that "[I]f you know your mystery stories at all, you must know by now how unfunyn a couple of presumably comic detectives can be when they get mixed up with spooks, sliding panels, and cluthing hands" and found that the film "is a feeble and fumbling attempt at being eerie and funny"[1] Kate Cameron of The New York Daily News said that the comedy in the film was "such feeble fooling that it entirely destorys [sic?] its purpose and merely seves [sic?] to shatter whatever illusion the murder and the mystery might otherwise hold for the audience."[1] Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times declared "The cast does as little with it as it deserves, and that is little enough."[1]
In their book on Universal Horror films, the authors stated that "mile-a-minute wisecracks and inane humor stand in for atmosphere and chills" declaring the film to be a "dismal myster-comedy that serves up none of either." and declaring it to be "one of the worst Universal mysteries of the '30s."[1]
References
Footnotes
- Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 179.
- "The Missing Guest". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
- Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 180.
- Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 182.
Sources
- Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)