The 9th Guest

Film: The 9th Guest

Year: 1934

Directors: Roy William Neill

Writers: Garnett Weston

Starring: Donald Cook, Genevieve Tobin and Hardie Albright

Review:

This is another movie that I didn't know existed until searching out horror films from 1934 for my Foray through the Fours. What is interesting here is that I just watched another movie from our director, Black Moon. I've also seen a couple of his later works with Universal. The title here made me think what we'd get here, but I came in just knowing that I found the correct one on YouTube.

Synopsis: eight people are invited to dinner in a fashionable penthouse apartment. After they're wined and dined, a voice on the radio informs them that they will be murdered unless they manage to outwit the ninth guest: Death.

We start this off in a telegram office. We're seeing different operators taking down messages and addresses. The last one we focus on is she tells the caller that she'll send this message to the eight places provided. We then meet these characters.

First is Jason Osgood (Edwin Maxwell). He is rich and he's backing Burke (Charles C. Wilson) for the mayoral race. We also see that along with Dr. Murray Reid (Samuel S. Hinds), they got Henry Abbott (Hardie Albright) fired from his position at a university. Abbott has radical beliefs and the time this is set; it wasn't difficult to do. There are shady things in the past of Burke that hurt his reputation and his run might fall short.

With that groundwork set, we see people invited to a dinner party from the synopsis. Dr. Reid and Osgood are two. The latter also learns that Tim Cronin's (Edward Ellis) lawyer found the information about Burke. Cronin is invited to the party so that creates tension. Margaret Chisholm (Nella Walker) gets invited. She has her finger on the pulse of the social circles. She also knows Cronin's daughter but doesn't want to help her as she is asked. Rounding out the invites that we see are Jean Trent (Genevieve Tobin), who is an actor. There's also James Daley (Donald Cook) who is a playwright. Something here is that these two know each other and they are feelings there. Abbott is also invited, creating more tension. The 8th is Sylvia Ingelsby (Helen Flint).

People start to show up to the location of the dinner party. Osgood and Chisholm are the first. They are trying to figure out who the house belongs to. When Cronin arrives with Sylvia, the first couple are ready to leave. They change their mind though as others arrive.

Hawkins (Sidney Bracey) is the butler hired for things to run smoothly. There is levity added by William Jones (Vince Barnett) who is a bumbling assistant. The latter tries to serve drinks and spills them in the process. This night was meticulously planned, but we're seeing things get derailed already.

It then takes a dark turn when Hawkins turns on the radio. A voice seems to be talking to our guests. They learn they cannot escape. The elevator doors are now electrified. The other exits of this building are the same. There is a vial of rustic acid on the mantel, if anyone decides this is too much and end their lives. They need to figure out who is behind this and why. The voice on the radio seems to be watching them and knows their every move.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this movie was ahead of the curve. It is based off a play that started as a novel called The Invisible Host. What is wild is that in my notes I put down that this felt like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. This novel predates that one by a decade. Another thing this reminded me of was The LaPlace's Demon. That came out in 2017. The newer movie has a similar set up, but different in the execution.

Now that I've set that up and provided background information, let me delve into the story first. I like the premise here. It is simple in that we gather a group of characters. They're connected and there is history. This gives motives for any of the characters to be the killer. Cronin has rubbed the most people the wrong way and he's hated. Osgood is rich so that makes people harbor issues. Abbott was fired from the university, so he has an ax to grind. Jim and Jean's parents wanted them to get married so there's a property that is held in a trust. They both must agree on what to do with it. That is unless one of them dies. I'm a fan of murder mysteries where this kept me guessing.

Then to play off that, I love the fact that this radio is talking to our characters. This feels ahead of its time though since I don't know if there could be cameras in the room for that person to not be there directly. The technology hampers this for me. There also is that supernatural feel that the person talking through the radio might know things that they shouldn't be able to. The reveal here does pull it back in though and it worked for me. It fits in line with a logical explanation for the era this was made.

What makes this work though is the cast. I'll be honest though. I don't think this does well enough in setting up the characters to where I knew exactly who which person was. The print wasn't in great shape and certain people looked similar. I had to guess at times and wait until a name was said. I did like Cook and Tobin. They work well off each other. This duo comes off as leads as things develop. Albright is good as this disgruntled character who is trapped with people he is upset with. Ellis works well as this more villainous Cronin. Maxwell is a mirror of him. It is fitting they don't get along. Flint, Hinds and Walker help round out the rest of the guests. I like Bracey and how Barnett annoys him. The latter being here for comic relief.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the setting was good. We have this modern penthouse apartment where these events take place. I loved the look of it. It also makes sense that the technology is more advanced as well. Trapping our characters is good. Seeing them trying to find an explanation and a way out works. I do think that this lost steam as it goes on though. It meandered a bit despite the 67-minute runtime. The effects were limited, but what we got worked. I also like what they do with the sound design with the radio and how they play into the reveal. This is well-made for the era.

In conclusion, I'm glad that I could tick this one off the list. It is interesting that this predates And Then There Were None by almost a decade as they have similar premises. We have a solid cast of characters. My only issue is that I think we needed just a bit more to differentiate them. An actual dinner scene would help. Their performances were solid. I say this is made well enough with the setting, trapping the characters and how information was presented through sound design. I just wanted a bit more on my end to fully work. I'd recommend it if you're interested in early horror movie cinema or a movie that predated Christie style mysteries.

My Rating: 7 out of 10