The Eleventh Commandment

An old lady dies without family, and leaves her estate of $50,000,000 -- a lot of money even today -- to William Mong, her lawyer. Somehow, in the last weeks of her life, she left her big mansion to Mong's partner, Theodore von Eltz, who's engaged to Marian Marsh, Mong's daughter. And Eltz has some people who may have claims to the estate...

It's crooked lawyer vs. Crooked lawyer, and I'm not sure why they can't split the boodle, but greed is greed, I suppose. This cheap Poverty Row flick is stylishly directed by George Melford. Like many an important silent director, he was kicked to the side in the early talkie era. He kept going for a while, but didn't outlast 1937, even though he lived to 1961.

Although there are some nice points in the direction, and some excellent, although bottoming actors in front of the camera -- Alan Hale and Marie Prevost among them -- there's not an ounce of humor in the script, although Miss Prevost offers some mildly funny touches.

The 11th Commandment, per this movie, is "Thou shalt not be caught". I think it's pretty self-explanatory, and it is very tongue in cheek.

When a woman named Annie Bedell, worth $50 million, passed away leaving no heirs there was a lot of talk about who her estate would go to. Anytime there is a valuable estate with a sliver of doubt surrounding the rightful heir to it you're going to have drama. Look up Anna Nicole Smith for an example.

Annie Bedell ended up, leaving her entire estate to her longtime lawyer, John Ross (William V Mung). If you think that is strange, that is because it is. A rival lawyer named Wayne Winters (Theodore von Eltz) was trying his best to wrest control of that $50 million from John's hands. Wayne Winters not only was John Ross's protégé, but he was also dating one of John Ross's daughters named Corinne (Marian Marsh).

A lot of scheming took place and just about every character looked evil in someway with the exception of John Ross's daughter Nina (pronounced Ny-na) played by Gloria Shea. With so many repulsive characters it was hard to see who was going to be the benefactor in the end.

I think the premise of the movie is pretty good. There have been many movies done about inheritances that were creative, such as "Brewsters Millions" (1985), "If I had a Million," "Greedy" (1984), and others. "The Eleventh Commandment" was an OK movie even if the ending was a bit nebulous and unresolved. I think the movie needed more exposition and more details to fill in just who all the various characters were and what their true character and motivations were.

$1.99 on Amazon Prime.