BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Hitchcoc There is nothing wrong with this film. It's just pretty lightweight. It does have a nice cast and the theme of the supernatural helps keep one's interest. When the chief character admits to being a charlatan, we would think there would be a slide downward. However, Dame Mae Witty, who is no stranger to mystery, having played the role of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in several films, manages to put life in this when she has to abandon her "talents" and figure out a way to solve the case and keep an innocent person from being charged with murder. There are other supporting actors who are great characters and a tight little plot that takes only a little over an hour to run its course. I have a soft place in my heart for these early British detective pieces.

csteidler Madame La Grange, psychic medium, admits that "Most of the time it's a fake" when she gives a reading. Tonight, however, she insists that she will play no tricks: she's at the English governor's residence in Calcutta, summoned to assist in investigating the murder of a most unpopular man.Dame May Witty plays the medium with appropriate gravity and mystery. Madge Evans wears a worried look as the beautiful secretary who is in love with the governor's son. She also, we soon learn, is the mysterious medium's daughter.Henry Daniell is moody and edgy as a friend of the murder victim. He wants answers from the police, who are represented by Lewis Stone, a Scotland Yard man who's been shipped in specially to look into the case.A couple of spooky séance scenes succeed in sending some shivers down the spine. Particularly effective is a bit when the lights are off and the screen is totally black for a long moment: we hear voices, then Daniell asking "Who killed you?"—and then just perfect silence and darkness for what seems an exceptionally long stretch. (When they do finally turn on the lights, there's another dead body.) It's a solid if not brilliant plot; it builds nicely to an exciting climax and a surprising solution.Witty has the most colorful role and is clearly the featured performer here; she is quite good. Lewis Stone's role, I have to say, I found annoying – he is one sententious police detective but not exactly the smartest. (Judge Hardy would never have come so close to totally blowing a case.) This one won't cause any nightmares but it is atmospheric, fast-moving, and plenty entertaining.

vincentlynch-moonoi This is a very good example of a film that MGM could have made an A list picture. Instead, it's a B film, but a pretty good one. A slightly better script would have helped, and probably would have made the difference.It's quite interesting -- using séances to solve murders. While that's nothing new, this was actually one of the early leaders in that genre (although this is a remake of a 1929 film). There are enough interesting characters here to hold your attention. As I was watching the film, I thought -- aha! A film that sticks pretty close to what was obviously a Broadway play. And indeed, it had been performed on the stage for about a year.The cast here is actually quite good, albeit B listers...but cream of the crop B listers. The seer is played well by Dame May Witty in what was her third "talkie". The detective is played so well by Andy Hardy's dad -- Lewis Stone. I always enjoyed Janet Beecher as a fine character actress, and she's here, as are a number of faces you'll recognize, but whose names you probably don't know.It's a decent whodunit, although a little too talkative in places. But stick with it...it's worth it and it has a few twists.

the_mysteriousx Just got to see this rare film, which was a remake of the 1929 film directed by Tod Browning. This one has all the nice polish of an MGM film, which is an asset. What is peculiar is why the film was made at all. It is a simple b-movie, and a remake of a pretty forgotten story. The previous version was a stilted early talkie, highlighted by the appearance of Bela Lugosi as the detective (pre-Dracula). Also, strangely, Holmes Herbert repeats his supporting role from the earlier film, which is a largely insignificant part. The music score is very good, underlying and adding to the mystery mood. It is not quite as atmospheric as the earlier film, but it is still sufficient. Henry Daniell is quite good as the obsessed friend of the dead man, who ends up dead himself. The séances are handled pretty weakly. It's just a stagnant shot of the room in the dark. I actually closed my eyes to rest them while the scenes went on, and just listened. Lewis Stone is solid as the detective, coming off as a bit more pushy than usual for him. Overall, it is interesting to see an MGM film like this. They didn't really delve into horror or mystery and considering this was made in the horror ban years of 1937-8, it really stands out in their catalog. It's worth the time of any 30s mystery buffs and if you've seen a lot of poverty row ones, this is a good contrast for its' production values. 6/10