Brilliant and touching

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Monogram Pictures was a very low-budget studio that specialized in cheap and exciting films. They were NOT a studio to make operettas or Shakespeare--that's for sure. Some of there films hold up well after all of these years--many of them don't. I have not yet seen a Monogram film I would consider great but they were often quite fun. Fun, cheap and entertaining is how I would describe "The Thirteenth Guest". While the film has many plot holes and problems, the overall film is pretty good for a B-movie. The film is one of those ridiculously impossible and complex murder films that is fun to watch but dumb when you actually think about it. Only in this sort of film or a Charlie Chan film (many of which were also made by Monogram) film would do.The film begins with a lady being horribly electrocuted by some maniac--though who did it is uncertain. Oddly, instead of the police heading the investigation, they ask a private detective (Lyle Talbot) to run things--a plot element that makes not one bit of sense. Eventually, Talbot and the police learn that the murder (and subsequent murders) are probably related to a weird dinner that had happened many years earlier. The man who threw the dinner party was very rich and he died during the dinner! His will incredibly stated that the thirteenth guest to arrive would inherit his fortunate--but only twelve show. His wife was odd, as she left the house and the room where the rich guy died exactly as it was during the party--and the killer would then prop the bodies of each victim in their original seats from the party!! Weird stuff alright and the killer turns out to be the one who looked like a killer the first time I saw them! Make of that what you will.A nice fast-paced plot with some cool murders cannot completely undo the ridiculousness of it all as well as some plot problems. Other than having a private citizen lead the investigation, there is a plastic surgery angle that makes no sense as well as some overly obnoxious suspects--too obnoxious to be real. Worth watching (especially since it's in the public domain) but not one to rush out to see--unless you are dying to see Ginger Rogers in one of her earliest roles (though, unfortunately, her acting and character are both a bit rough).

This poverty row thriller has a similar storyline to "The Cat and the Canary" - haunted house, frightened heiress, a disguised killer, secret passages etc. Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot, who plays Phil Winston were not a romantic couple in this film (although they did date briefly in real life) until the last five minutes - he being very keen on solving the murders.The film starts imaginatively with a clutching hand pulling down each title card. Marie Morgan (or Lela) (Ginger Rogers) arrives at her old family home - one that hasn't been occupied for 13 years to find a telephone has been installed!!! After reading a cryptic message left by her father, she remembers back to a dinner party of 13 years before. The thirteenth guest did not arrive. When her father died he left the bulk of his estate to the 13th guest who never came forward. Thirteen years later the police are called to view a girls body, they believe has been electrocuted.There is a "hooded terror" roaming and controlling the house through an "electrified" phone - when people answer it, a lever is pushed and the victim dies. It seems that the killer wanted the police to believe that Marie was the victim but it is really an unknown woman who has had a complete facial reconstruction to look like Marie. Then the family lawyer is found dead. Winston is convinced one of the original guests is the killer and invites them all to his apartment to show them that Marie is very much alive!!!This is a pretty good film with lots of twists and turns. Being a pre- code some of the comments are surprising. Eddie Philips being referred to as Marie's brother's "boyfriend". When Paul Hurst as a bumbling detective looks down at his shoes, realises that they are on the wrong feet and then says "Well, you told me to tail her" everyone laughs!!Recommended.

Routine but likable 'old dark house' mystery thriller with numerous familiar but enjoyable trappings (a family reunion for the reading of a will is followed by multiple murders committed by a hooded figure). There's also comic relief from an inept policeman, while romantic interest for potential heiress Ginger Rogers is provided by the dashing detective on the case (Lyle Talbot); an interesting plot point involves a girl who undergoes plastic surgery in an attempt to replace Rogers. Unsurprisingly, the Alpha print is extremely poor but I'm glad I had this opportunity to watch the film. Director Ray and Rogers later collaborated on the similar A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT (1933), which I watched a couple of years back (thanks to Michael Elliott).

Spoilers herein.I've been slogging through many 1930's film mysteries. Dozens of them, and this is one of the most interesting. I've seen it three times now and still can't figure it all out. That's a good sign.It starts simple enough, and follows a standard pattern established over decades in radio mysteries: a raffish detective, incompetent comic police, beautiful girls, society people. There's a puzzle, hidden passages and a villain dressed in a black silk hood and gown. That villain has an evil laugh inherited from radio conventions.Things chug along predictably until the end which has a pretty interesting twist. The twist is on the notion of twist itself as the bad guy is someone you suspect and for the reason you suspect. The twist is that there are two conspiracies working at cross-purposes. So even though the solution itself is mundane, the next to the last step toward the solution is pretty darn clever.Oh, and a very young and pretty Ginger Rogers is the girl.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.