"Murder at Midnight" from 1931 is a mystery starring Aileen Pringle, Alice White, Hale Hamilton, Robert Elliott, and Clara Blandick.
During a game of charades at a party, a gun shooting blanks shoots real bullets and a man is killed. A police inspector (Elliott) is brought in and accuses everyone during the course of the film. But he has to contend with the fact that there are four more murders as well.
Nevertheless there are plenty of suspects - according to an attorney, there's a missing letter written by the first person who was murdered. He had some concerns for his safety, with good reason.
This looks like a film stage play, as early films like this often did; the rhythm of the dialogue is off due to no music, and also the actors just getting used to sound.
I interviewed Aileen Pringle about 30 years ago for a book project. She was no help, but I bet she had some fantastic stories.
The one who makes the biggest impression in this film is Alice White who plays the maid. She was a film star who fell on hard times after a sex scandal - today that would have boosted her career. Back then it didn't help. It's easy to see why she was a star at one time - she was very appealing.
The rest of the acting is stiff, but the story has a nice twist to it.
During a game of charades at a party, a gun shooting blanks shoots real bullets and a man is killed. A police inspector (Elliott) is brought in and accuses everyone during the course of the film. But he has to contend with the fact that there are four more murders as well.
Nevertheless there are plenty of suspects - according to an attorney, there's a missing letter written by the first person who was murdered. He had some concerns for his safety, with good reason.
This looks like a film stage play, as early films like this often did; the rhythm of the dialogue is off due to no music, and also the actors just getting used to sound.
I interviewed Aileen Pringle about 30 years ago for a book project. She was no help, but I bet she had some fantastic stories.
The one who makes the biggest impression in this film is Alice White who plays the maid. She was a film star who fell on hard times after a sex scandal - today that would have boosted her career. Back then it didn't help. It's easy to see why she was a star at one time - she was very appealing.
The rest of the acting is stiff, but the story has a nice twist to it.