The Speckled Band

I saw this film in 1931at a time when most British movies creaked

along. As I recall, this was a cut above most of its contemporaries,

with convincing performances b y Massey, Baddeley and Harding.

Most impressive was the opening: camera ranged through the

dark halls and passages of an old English manor in a sustained

dolly shot to the eerie sound of some kind of Indian wind

instrument. The sequence ended with a jump cut to the face of a

young woman, screaming in her death throes. Most alarming and

impressive. For me it ranks with one of he best shock openings

I've ever seen. Today, they'd probably play such a scene before the

main title.

An interesting footnote: In later life, Angela Baddeley, the heroine,

was to play Mrs. Hudson, the cook, in the unforgettable British

series, Upstairs, Downstairs.