Before Dawn

Back in the 1920s and 30s, Hollywood made a bunch of creepy old dark house films. This is yet another one, though it's a tad different here and there...enough so that it's worth seeing even if the plot isn't especially believable.

When the story begins, a man is dying in agony. He begs his doctor (Warner Oland) to kill him and put him out of his mercy....and the doctor agrees to do so AFTER the man tells him about a fortune in hidden gold.

Some time passes. At the home where the money is hid, the dead man's widow learns of his death. Now she no longer needs to keep the loot hidden...she wants to live in style. But when the ghost of the dead man seems to appear, she dies of fright.

Soon after this, the police constable (Stu Erwin) is investigating some psychic frauds. However, one of them seems to have genuine powers and the police decide to let her investigate the death of the lady by fright. What's really going on here and will they figure out the truth in time?

This is a decent old mystery, though I must admit that Warner Oland overacted horribly throughout the film. Additionally, who the killer is becomes rather obvious. Despite this, the film is enjoyable and fun...if also a bit antiquated.