The Week End Mystery

Week End Mystery, The (1932) ** 1/2 (out of 4) This finds Dr. Crabtree (Donald Crisp) and Inspector Carr (John Hamilton) called to an old dark house on a stormy night. There they discover the body of the home owner who was shot as he left a poker game where he had some weekend guests over. This entry in the series manages to have a couple nice sequences even though the story itself isn't anything too special. This was the second film I've seen in the series and I'm sure the original work of S.S. Van Dine had to have been popular for the studio to make them into movies but I'm also wondering how much plot had to be cut out to fit the story into a 17-minute short. What does work this time out is the atmosphere, which is pretty good. The rain effects are very noticeable as is the fake lightening but it works. Another added bonus is that Hamilton and Crisp actually bring some energy to the film and makes it move a lot better than it would have without them. Harry McNaughton is also quite good in the role of the Butler. While this movie isn't ground break or a work of art, it manages to be mildly entertaining for what it is.