Death from a Distance

The film's title implies that death strikes from afar, and in a clever way, it does...

This low-budget little whodunit will NEVER be aired on TV, so you will have to find a rental, or more likely, buy a copy to see how this ingenious little murder is worked out.

I won't spoil it for anyone by telling you that the victim is in the audience of a planetarium, and naturally-- so is the murderer! The police are called in, and the entire story is acted out pretty much on that one set.

Filmed on one of the lowest budgets possible, "Death From A Distance" will still keep you watching, and guessing, right to the surprise ending.

Not bad, to say the least. To B-movie mystery buffs, I say: Buy it, if you can find it, and enjoy.

Yes, this is an absolute alien mystery thriller, the over the best of bland director Frank Strayer, whose films are not that widely known and even less shown. VAMPIRE BAT was rather famous for thirties horror films buffs, but that's all. Some of talkies Strayer's movies are in the public domain now, in terms of copyrights elements, even available on some DVD retailers but I am sure no one watches them. This one is a mystery, as I have told, yarn, as there there thousands of them in those decades, before TV industry takes it for its own purpose. I am not a great fan of those most of the time boring plots, but this one is very amusing, intriguing, unusual.

"A murder is committed at the Forest Park Planetarium during a lecture by the celebrated Astronomer, Professor Ernst Einfeld (Lee Kohlmar). The fatal shot is fired in semi-darkness while a distinguished audience observes the stars projected on the dome above them. A hardboiled homicide detective (Russell Hopton) trades verbal jabs with a wisecracking gal reporter (Lola Lane) as they attempt to unravel the mysterious killing," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. In a very dull manner.

The "gal reporter" character played by Lola Lane was, in part, writer Jerry Siegel's inspiration for Superman's Girl Friend, "Lois Lane"; however, Ms. Lane's later "Torchy Blane" characterization is a more accurate reference point. Perhaps, "Death from a Distance is most notable as featuring the penultimate performance of George F. Marion (as Jim Gray), who so memorably played the father of Pauline Lord (1921), Blanche Sweet (1923), and Greta Garbo (1930) in Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie".

*** Death from a Distance (9/17/35) Frank Strayer ~ Russell Hopton, Lola Lane, George F. Marion

"Death from a Distance" (which in the end, as we almost suspected, proves a QUITE appropriate title) may be no masterpiece of mystery, but it's a very solid crime puzzle which, like so often in the 30s, teams a cop with a girl reporter to solve the murder.

The performances, especially by Lola Lane as the cheeky, fresh young reporter, are not at all bad: quite convincing, and containing a good dose of humor! Not that the murder case isn't handled seriously: the police methods are portrayed in a realistic way - while, on the other 'side', the newsroom's atmosphere with all its male and female news hounds, who are sometimes nerve-racking, sometimes PRETTY helpful for the cops, is once again depicted in a wonderfully authentic way.

But the most stunning feature of this particular movie that otherwise would be one of many average 30s' murder mysteries are the settings of the murder scene: here we actually get to see how a planetarium of the 1930s looked like and worked - certainly a kind of time document today...

Death from a Distance features a murder at a planetarium. As most of the film's action takes place in the one large room, it's probably a good thing that the room contains a large telescope and a ceiling painted with stars, a setting unique enough to remain somewhat viewable for 70 minutes. The lead characters are not as unique—Russell Hopton is the police detective investigating, Lola Lane the girl reporter getting in his way. Hopton and Lane do their best to put some life into their roles, but the bits of witty banter they are given are somewhat few and far between.

The other characters fare little better. Most lively is Lee Kohlmar as Professor Einfeld, who is supposedly one of the three greatest scientists in the world and is therefore rather unkempt and absent-minded but ultimately sharp enough to aid in solving the mystery. There are, of course, also a dumb assistant detective, a couple of scientists with shady pasts, and a curator. (By the way, Einfeld also speaks in a European accent and has a messy shock of hair. Ein-what?)

The murder device is cleverly conceived, I have to say. However, the detective work and the uncovering of clues are all somewhat hazy. Ultimately, Death from a Distance lacks snap, but the mystery is at least deep enough to keep us watching until the end.