Seven Keys to Baldpate

It was about 2AM in the morning and I was watching late night TV, flicking aimlessly. Then I stumbled across the 1947 mystery/thriller Seven Keys to Baldpate. I was dead tired and expected to lose interest within a minute and doze off, but there was something about the setup to this film that was simply absorbing cinema, waking me up as if it was 2 pm in the afternoon. Granted it loses momentum half way through, tailing off considerably towards the end, perhaps due to not fleshing out the premise, which essentially is seven strangers mysteriously brought together in a dark, creaky old Mansion one stormy night. But the mood it creates in it's first half hour is 30 minutes of mystery/thriller cinema I rank as high as any in the genre. Perhaps it was the films ambiance, the darkness, the balance on interior and exterior, the set, the storm, the random characters appearing from no where, the less is more mentality which is so essential in setting up a mystery/thriller film. All those elements created mood that was so cinematic it took me from the depressing late night channel flicking into the mysterious happenings of the Baldpate mansion. I was mesmerized at one point, moving in close to the TV, hanging off each characters every word, wanting to know why. The why you find out later, and it doesn't live up, but I give the film 6/10, because the feeling of wanting to know more in the first 30 minutes was so engaging, they could've faded to black and never fade back in...still I would give it 6/10.

I'm aware of three versions of this film (1929, 1935 and this one from 1947). In my opinion, the best of the lot is the first version from 1929 with Richard Dix. This one contains more silly comedy and less mystery than the first.

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947)

** (out of 4)

The George M. Cohan play gets yet another version from RKO. This time out it's Phillip Terry playing author Kenneth Magee who agree to take a bet that he can write a novel in 24-hours. The only catch is that he must do it in the Baldpate Inn.

This here was the fourth sound version of the Cohan play and the third one made for the big screen. This one here certainly doesn't measure up with the 1917 silent version and I'd argue that it's weaker than both the 1929 and 1935 versions. There are some interesting changes done here by director Lew Landers (THE RAVEN) including the fact that they've slowed down the material.

The previous movies all had a bunch of fast dialogue and the action and comedy was done at a pretty fast pace. That's not the case here as it almost seems like the filmmakers thought viewers in 1947 wouldn't understand the material so they slowed everything down and the simplest plot points in earlier versions are fully explained here. I'm not sure why they did this but it certainly doesn't help things.

Terry is pretty bland in the lead role and he has zero chemistry with Jacqueline White who plays the love interest. Jimmy Conlin is decent in the role of the hermit but he's not given too much to work with. Margaret Lindsay appears in a small role as well. This version of SEVEN KEYS OF BALDPATE is for those who just want to say they've seen all the film versions.

You wouldn't be seeing this film at any other time other than the midnight to dawn schedule. A relatively effective start leads to a runaround that could very nearly have been farce. Its length denotes its depth: fairly clichéd characters stuck together in a remote country hotel, dying one by one in ways that surely must have been groansome even in 1947.... But at the time of the day I was watching it, my brain wasn't exactly working on all cylinders, so it amused me.

Of particular note is Phillip Terry, whose acting is nothing short of woeful: he is clearly not suited to the type of character he is playing here. The fact that he is playing the main character makes it stand out terribly, and it isn't improved when the tone of the film (and the role) changes as the film goes on.

If you like stereotypical mystery films that are amusing at various levels, than this B movie is for you. Philip Terry, a lifelong B actor stars in the film as a mystery writer. He does a decent job in the role. Various other B actors flesh out the roles as red herrings, villains, and heroes.

Although the film is pretty much predictable, it is highly atmospheric, and captures the film noir aura of the late 1940s. It is a harmless way to pass an evening of ordering out pizza and watching a film that does not require a great deal of our attention. The plot is a bit convoluted and hard to swallow, and would not be possible to be sold today in the modern mystery market.