Too much of everything

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

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

The often filmed George M. Cohan play (adapted from a novel) is given a new, fresh look in the second of three sound versions, even more fast moving and thrilling than the above average 1929 version. Gene Raymond takes on the role of a novelist with writers block who finds that the supposed one key to his hideaway can't block a group of wacky intruders. He finds art really does imitate life, finding enough thrills in a 24 hour period to last him a lifetime.A spooky hotel, closed for the windy winter, is an instant hit for a great setting, with tree branches hitting on the windows, a ghostly woman in white gliding through the snow, sliding panels, black cats and enough old dark house atmosphere to provide more than enough chills and thrills. All it is missing is a dour looking housekeeper or sinister old lady, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other crazy characters abound. The lovable Henry Travers ("Mrs. Miniver", "The Bells of St. Mary's") is unforgettable as a woman hating hermit who likes pretending he's a ghost, and Eric Blore adds his usual endearing eccentricity to the role of a supposed professor. Dumb gangsters filled with a ton of malapropisms give the story a real Damon Runyeon feel, while Margaret Callahan is a very charming leading lady. Toss in Erin O'Brien-Moore as a dark femme fatal and in an unforgettable cameo, future Supporting Actor Oscar King Walter Brennan as a babbity train station master.It is the set, photography and chilly atmosphere that provides the greatest praise, mixing comedy, romance and melodrama at a break-neck pace. Even the roles of the local law enforcement in the final moments of the film keeps the interest at a peak, and Travers is given a great exit line. Remakes of the golden age of filmmaking were many, but certain ones rise about their lack of originality with creative design and know-how. This "Seven Keys" gets two thumbs up and for an 80 year old revisal of a much filmed theme feels like it might be worthy of repeat viewings.

I had seen this movie several years ago and recall not liking it much but thought I would give it another try as I do like Gene Raymond and 1930s mysteries. Writer Bill Magee (Raymond) is on his way to the closed-for-the-season Baldpate Inn. Supposedly, there is only one key to the inn and Magee has it. Magee has to write a novel in 24 hours and requires the peace and quiet that a closed inn will give him (he should be so lucky). As is repeated often "there is only one key to the inn and I have it." The "I" is Magee and six other people. The movie drags at first but does pick up towards the end. Gene Raymond does a nice job and the there is a strong supporting cast (with the exception of the bland Margaret Callahan). My two favorites were Walther Brennan as the Station Agent (one could close one's eyes and still know it was Walter Brennan speaking as his voice was so distinctive) and Henry Travers as the Hermit. I thank the other reviewers for adding the fascinating information about the play and Cohan. I liked this movie better at the second watching but it sure isn't going make my "top 1,000 favorite movies" list.

This oft filmed drawing room mystery gets perhaps its worst treatment with a bad cast to go along with its insipid storyline. Basically a summer stock frolic with hints of Feydeau it boasts two directors, both clueless as they clumsily flub anything salvageable in what is slim pickings to begin with.A writer (Gene Raymond) seeking solitude to practice his craft feels he may have found a perfect spot to concentrate at the deserted Baldpate Inn. He gets more than he bargained for though when some shady characters begin to show up creating dismal havoc.Raymond leads a cast of lifeless dullards through the motions in this Chan like mystery (same author) sorely in need of the charm and wit of Charlie. It is lacking in both mystery and suspense and Raymond and company come across abrasive and flat as they interrupt and out shout each other. Totally bereft of drama and wit Seven Keys to Baldpate is a flawless mess, it misses in every department.

George M Cohan's success as a songwriter and performer has obscured the fact that he also wrote or co-wrote many plays, most of which were very successful in their day. But Cohan's plays have dated badly. He relied heavily on one very contrived device. Most of Cohan's plays feature a wide assortment of very old-fashioned stock characters, contrasted with a wise-cracking slang-slinging protagonist (often played by Cohan himself) who speaks directly to the audience, and who comments on the stiffness of all the other characters in the cast.'Seven Keys to Baldpate', which Cohan adapted from a novel by Earl Derr Biggers -- now remembered as the creator of Charlie Chan -- is the only Cohan play which is still revived with any frequency. Even this one is squeaky and creaky. The story has been filmed (to date) *seven* times under its original title, with some disguised remakes such as 'House of Long Shadows' and Gene Wilder's wretched 'Haunted Honeymoon' (which ripped off its one and only funny gag from the unjustly obscure comedy 'Murder, He Says').This 1935 edition is probably the best film version, which isn't saying much. It modernises the material somewhat, deviating significantly from Cohan's original play. Gene Raymond portrays a novelist who comes to the old abandoned Baldpate Inn so as to get some peace and quiet while he writes a novel. He expects to be left alone because he possesses the one and only key to Baldpate ... so nobody else can get in. But then a succession of oddball characters show up, each one weirder than the last ... and each one possesses what he or she claims is the one and only key to Baldpate.There's a 'surprise' ending that's quite obvious, especially if you've seen 'Haunted Honeymoon'. The best performance in this 1935 movie is by Henry Travers, as a crusty hermit who's misogynistic with it, and who is busy writing a manuscript denouncing womankind. 'Hey, mister!' he shouts, interrupting just as Gene Raymond is about to smooch bland leading lady Margaret Callahan. 'If I start a sentence with the word 'women', do I *hafta* use a capital W?' That's a typical example of the weak humour on offer here.Cohan's original play ended with a startling piece of meta-fiction, a coup de theatre in which we learn that the events we've just witnessed are actually the contents of the novelist's manuscript, which he has already written. It would have been an improvement if this 1935 film version had attempted something like that, instead of the flat obvious ending which this movie has. I'll rate it 3 out of 10, mostly for its fine cast of supporting actors.