User reviews

The film literally starts off with a shriek in the night when a man falls to his death from the penthouse of an apartment building. What appeared to be suicide turns out an act of murder and, much more than the local police force, two competing journalists start looking for the murderer. This is a rather curious film because it's not really the plot which interests you…but only the characters. The actual search for the murderer's identity and his whole motivation is mediocre, but the dialogues between the two journalists are very wit and cleverly written. They constantly try to overtrump each other, which results in scenes that are both funny and emotional. The supportive characters are very enchanting as well, particularly the hysterical housemaid (Lillian Harmer) and the overly shy police-assistant Wilfred. "A Shriek in the Night" might not be the most memorable murder-mystery of the 1930's, but it's definitely worth a look in case you're a fan of classic, primitive cinema.

A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT (Allied Pictures, 1933), directed by Albert Ray, reunites Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot of THE THIRTEENTH GUEST (Monogram, 1932), in another mystery thriller.

Following the opening credits, the story begins at night with a view of an apartment building (obviously a miniature model) followed by the sound of a scream, an overhead view of a man's body (obviously a dummy) falling down from the penthouse above and landing on the sidewalk below. The incident immediately draws a crowd which awakens a janitor (Harvey Clark), whose residence is in the basement level, to be awaken from the noise to soon come outside to hark the identity of the body as "Mr. Harker!" Enter the police: Inspector Russell (Purnell B. Pratt), whose philosophy is, "I'm an inspector and I can say anything I want," and his assistant, the dim-witted Wilfred (Alfred Hoyt), who arrive at the scene of the crime at 921 Lake Street to investigate whether the death of the penthouse millionaire to be suicide or murder. Russell and Wilfred soon encounter a young girl named Patricia Morgan (Ginger Rogers), acting as Harker's secretary but in reality is a reporter for the Morning News out to get a story following a hunch regarding Harker's association with a racketeer named Josephus Martini (Maurice Black). Also there to out-scoop Pat is Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot) of the Daily Express, who becomes responsible for Pat's getting fired by Perkins, her editor (Clarence Wilson) for accidentally telephoning her own story to Ted, believing him on the extension to be the rewrite man from her paper. Hoping to redeem herself and solve Harker's murder, Pat continues to investigate, only to encounter more killings before she herself becomes the murder victim by nearly being placed in a blazing incinerator.

The supporting cast includes Lillian Harmer as Augusta, the shrieking maid who not only enjoys reading mystery magazines, but adds to the confusion with her bewilderment; Louise Beavers (with surname billed in the credits as Beaver) as the black maid who also shrieks after finding a body of a man named Colby in one of the apartments; and Cyril Ring, among others whose names have gone uncredited.

A mystery melodrama that combines the elements of mystery and comedy, A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT, which may not be in the higher league had it been directed by Alfred Hitchcock, does have some potential in spite of its low budget values. Lacking background mood music to add to suspense, fine moments include a shadowy figure seen through the silhouette on the wall listening to the telephone extension as certain characters, especially the two main characters, are conversing their thoughts about the Harker case. Maurice Black as the stereotypical Italian gangster and secretive loner also residing in the apartment building, also adds to the mystery.

While THE THIRTEENTH GUEST is better known of the two Rogers and Talbot collaborations, A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT has had more exposure on late night cable and local public television stations during the 1980s. Because of similarities, A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT is sometimes mistaken as a sequel to THE THIRTEENTH GUEST. It's interesting to point out that Ginger Rogers uses the same surname of "Morgan" in both films as well as belting out a scream or two when confronted by the unidentified killer.

As a "public domain" title, A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT has been distributed through various video manufacturers, including one company that used a more glamorous 1940s looking picture of Ginger Rogers on the storage box in spite that this is an early 1930s film that at times, due to sporadic echoes with the dialog and some poor lighting, plays like something right out of 1930. Whether its the film itself or the aging process is uncertain, but restoration in sound and clearer picture quality might help. The fact that A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT presents a youthful, yet almost unrecognizable and slightly brunettish-blonde Rogers in a "poverty row" production sporting some unattractive gowns designed by Alberta, shortly before her acclaimed popularity at RKO Radio and association with Fred Astaire in those lavish dance musicals through most of the 1930s, her quick and sassy one-liners and love-hate relationship with rival reporter (Talbot) while solving a mystery, manage to keep the pace going during its 66 minutes of screen time.(**)

A very funny and quite well made poverty row whodunnit from 1932, this pairing of Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot might have just set the ideas in motion for THE THIN MAN series at MGM a year later. I think this film was made at the Tiffany Studio in 1932 just as this company ceased production.... or just after...this is exactly the sort of film they made especially with very snazzy overstuffed deco furniture and solid clunky sound and production values. Credits say it is made by Allied Productions which nobody has ever heard of or from, so my guess as a faux Tiffany Production, might be right. The 1929 Tiffany film PARTY GIRL is made in exactly the same way and with the same solid look and quality sets. Ginger and Lyle also seen in the 'haunted' Monogram pic from the same year: THE THIRTEENTH GUEST offer a smart alec couple making verbal quips and asides and leave the audience well pleased in their natural delivery and likable sparring. This film is well directed with a refreshing and timeless modern style. SHREIK IN THE NIGHT is essentially a haunted house movie set in a skyscraper penthouse and for lovers of pre code goofiness and sexual antics (and even prohibition speakeasy asides) leaves a 2005 viewer with a knowing smile that someone 73 years ago was tuned into long lasting imagery and dialogue. One scene in a cellar with a furnace is particularly creepy and if seen in a 3000 seat movie palace in 1932 must have caused huge screams and genuine shrieks! This is great fun, well made and 'modern' and shows that if Tiffany had survived, they might have outlasted even Grand National Pictures - which I strongly suspect was their successor - and partly ultimately the re-formed 1937 Monogram and certainly PRC ...which I can track as their location and later name. It's a good film, made under what I would think was swiftly changing technology and times. The direction and dialogue and delivery has certainly successfully stood the test of time.

"Rival reporters Pat Morgan (Ginger Rogers) and Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot) are always trying to out-scoop each other on stories. The latest involves the mysterious death of a philanthropist who fell to his death after a shriek was heard from his penthouse apartment. The two reporters start out as rivals but combine efforts to solve the crime and write the story when more residents of the apartment building turn up dead," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

This said-to-be follow-up to "The Thirteenth Guest" has little to do with the earlier movie; it is not a sequel, as has been inferred. Ms. Rogers continues to develop her skills. Mr. Talbot adds a little humor to his characterization. They are a pleasant team, the plot is interesting and mysterious; but, the resulting film is very dull. The opening and closing are startling. A long-winded wrap-up of plot development points follows the climax.

*** A Shriek in the Night (1933) Albert Ray ~ Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, Harvey Clark

This is #3 in Navarre's DVD release 'Horror Classics vol 9', the other 2 being 'Maniac' & 'The world gone mad', and the one I prefer of the three. Again, it's more intelligently scripted and played that you might suspect at first glance, and I enjoyed it a lot coming to it the first time.

There was always something downbeat and depressing about Ginger Rogers acting style, but you can't argue with the fact she does a good job in this film as well as looking an extremely decorative 22 year old. The relationships she has with the Police Inspector (Pratt) and her boyfriend (Talbot) are pretty refreshing and almost adult - although she does say she can't go to bed unless he has left the room. Would that todays leading ladies would say that! Some of the Inspector's pithy comments are witty and barbed, too - my favourite: he's asked at a tense moment "What makes him think that?" - "My brain".

As for the climax I thought we were going to witness something grisly, but it was handled well (and quickly) and we avoided that possibility. ASITN is growing on me as I write - I don't think it's ever been on UK TV either!

+Mild Spoilers+ Crime mystery with a very young Ginger Rogers, playing a reporter, Pat Morgan, going after the big story by going undercover as a live-in maid at the penthouse of big time city philanthropist Adam Harker.

Pat's on a story to connect Harker to racketeer Joe Martini, Maurice Black,who happens to live in the same building gets more then she bargained for with Harker flying out of his apartment window to his death. Later on the floor under him a Mrs.Coby is found murdered and her husband is later found floating in the river an apparent suicide.

Police inspector Russell,Purnell Pratt, finds evidence that Harker was actually in the Coby's apartment when he fell or jumped to his death and deduces that it was Mr. Coby who found Harker and Mrs. Coby together, and in a jealous rage, killed both of them then and later committed suicide. Of course as we know from seeing the obvious in movies like this the truth about Harker and the Coby's death is far more stranger then at first thought.

Pretty good movie that has it share of comedy in it to get the audience a bit relaxed until the final few minutes. When it's found out who really is responsible for the murders with Pat almost burned to a cinder by the killer in the buildings basement incinerator.

What's a bit odd about the movie is that the killer was really trying to avenge his innocent brothers execution as both Harker and Martini had him set up and railroaded to take the rap for a murder, that they committed a number of years ago. The killer got a little too carried away by killing the Coby's, who had nothing to do with his brothers death, by trying to throw off the police from suspecting him.

Worth watching because unlike many movies made back then in the early 1930's it has the feel of a film made much later with the sound and photography and most of all the actors acting more natural. Not acting like their on the stage and having to throw their voices and enunciate every word to make sure that everyone in the theater hears exactly what their saying. Like in most films made in the early years of talkies.

You know this is going to be a great movie when it starts with Police Insp. Russell (Purnell Pratt) saying, "I'm the inspector I can say anything." Also, we find that Ginger Rogers can do more than dance.

The film starts dark and has a sort of German expressionist feel. A body is dropped and splat! We hear a shriek in the night. Looks like Mr. Parker fell off the roof garden. This is only the beginning and that daring duo of reporters Pat Morgan, and Ted Kord (Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot) may be in love and trying to outguess the inspector. This may have four more consequences than they expect.

For such a short movie this can get convoluted and have many parallel tales. As we suspected all along, we should have listened to the suggestion of Wilfred (Arthur Hoyt.)

It is also fun watching all the old technology from the fleece calling card fourteen to the old-timey switchboards. Even the cabs seem strange to the modern eye. Also, where did ginger Rogers get that hairstyle?

A Shriek In the Night is a fairly good mystery-chiller, even though it is a little slow moving in parts.

Two reporters and the police investigate a series of murders in an apartment block. These include a man being pushed off the top floor penthouse ans a woman who has been strangled. At the time of the first killing, there were reports of a strange hissing sound and we see the outline of the murderer who seems to wearing a gas mask. All is revealed at the end.

Despite it being slow moving at times, this movie is quite creepy, especially some of the scenes where we see the shadows of people.

The cast includes a non-musical role for Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot (Plan 9 From Outer Space) and Arthur Hoyt (The Lost World).

A shriek In the Night is a good way to spend just over an hour one evening. Enjoyable.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

A man falls to his death and sets things in motion. Everyone has a secret. There are a series of layers to a crime group which is trying to cover all the bases. Our non-dancing heroine, shows herself to be quite photogenic, playing off Lyle Talbott as they jockey for position on their respective newspapers. There is a lot of byplay, lots of telephone calls, quite a bit of going in and out of apartments, some misdirected gas used as a weapon, a weird janitor, and on and on. It's actually a pretty decent story. When you have people of star quality, you can get away with a low budget. My favorite character is a milquetoast detective who becomes very important when the chips are down. He is treated with disdain by his boss throughout the movie. There, are, of course, the mandatory sexist remarks. A woman's place is in the home and all that. But it was a different time. See it sometime; it's not too bad.

The always delightful Ginger Rogers is seen here in this relic of a murder mystery "A Shriek In The Night". Looking cute and acting her usual cheerful self, Miss Rogers is a reporter posing as a personal secretary to a wealthy man until...he gets murdered! Whodunit? Rogers and rival reporter, played by Lyle Talbot, vie furiously with each other to get the scoop with some very hilarious results. Rogers always did have the splendid knack of delivering a wisecrack with just the right touch and in one scene where a cab driver refers to Talbot as a "man", Rogers snaps: "Man? Don't be vulgar!" Her timing and facial expressions are still fresh and charming today. What a splendid performer! The inspector and his sidekick have some funny bits and even the morgue keeper has a howling funny line. "A Shriek in the Night" is low-budget, but it doesn't always seem to be. Nice art deco sets and a good cast save it. One thing annoys me though. Why aren't we shown how Rogers gets out of the furnace near the end of the picture? Apart from that, "A Shriek in the Night" is not a bad film, although it is a film where you really need to pay attention to what's being said at the finish since we never meet some of the characters that are talked about during the conclusion.

This is a pseudo-sequel to the 13the Guest which starred Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot, who star here.

It begins with a body falling off the building and hitting the pavement... we see it hit the pavement. What follows is a series of murders in and around an apartment building, some of which is rather dark for what we think of as a 1930's mystery, but then again its pre-code so some of whats said is more than a little blue.

I can't believe this is the follow up to The 13th Guest since Ginger is so stiff and much of her performance consists of smoking. She smokes a lot here and its almost pathological. Yes she has a great deal of screen time and is the lead but the role isn't well written.

Yes the dialog is snappy and the mystery interesting but at times it feels too long even at 66 minutes. Its the fact that at times the events double back on themselves, I think because the budget was low.

Does that mean its a bad movie, no, its not. Its quite good but The 13th Guest is better. If you can get them as a pair or get this with something else then by all means do so, but don't get this on its own, unless you get it for about five bucks or the cost of a rental.

With someone like Ginger Rogers involved, you'd be expecting a pretty good show, right? Well, I guess this one wasn't horrible, but I was certainly expecting more. It has your basic mystery plot: A man falls to his death under mysterious circumstances. Was it murder? Rogers plays the typical female reporter that is mandatory for this kind of show, and she's no better than anyone else who has played the same role. The detectives were a bit disappointing, usually detectives in this kind of film are pretty interesting characters, but here they mostly fall flat. One of them has a couple good lines near the first, but thats about it. Lyle Talbot's character makes up for it a bit though, I thought he was pretty cool and provided a few good chuckles. Overall, you can find a lot better films in this vein.

5/10

Though slow-moving and obviously done on a low budget, "A Shriek in the Night" has a pretty good mystery story, and features a good role for Ginger Rogers as a reporter trying to solve the crime.

The story concerns a series of murders committed in an apartment building, in which each of the victims had received a cryptic anonymous letter before their death. Rogers' character goes undercover to investigate, and she finds herself in conflict both with the police and with a rival reporter (Lyle Talbot). The two reporters try to mislead and trick each other even as both are trying to solve the murders.

Most of the story is rather slow-moving, but towards the end things start to happen quickly, and it is worth waiting for. Rogers plays her part well, and there are a few moments of humor.

While overall it is a rather plain movie, if you like old mystery stories you will probably find it worth watching once.

For a Poverty Row effort (Allied Pictures), A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT has unusually high production values and a far better cast (Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, Purnell Pratt, even Louise Beavers) than such movies could normally command. Actually, I'm puzzled as to what Ginger Rogers was doing here at this point in her career. Some sort of loan-out from her new studio, RKO? Was RKO responsible for the realistic outdoor shooting and the occasionally witty banter in the script? There must be some story here, but I've never come across it.

In any event, a handsome young couple wisecracking their way through a murder mystery was a staple of thirties' filmmaking and stayed that way for at least for another fifty years (the TV series Moonlighting would be the latest 'New Hot Thing' of its time, which was at least 50 years after SHRIEK). This was a pretty early example of the genre, and not the worst that it would produce by a long shot. Not exactly a sequel to THE THIRTEENTH GUEST though it also was about a murder and featured the same two leads, SHRIEK is much more in the spirit of THE THIN MAN as our pair of rival reporters (Rogers and Talbot) banter their way through a murder investigation ("What's romantic about a speakeasy?" "Man! Don't be vulgar") that is heavier on the comedy than it is on the mystery (it's not a good sign when you have to spend two minutes at the end of your picture explaining what the plot had been about).

Lyle Talbot had sort of reached his level as the star of movies like this; Ginger Rogers, of course, was about to reach her level as the star of movies like TOP HAT. They raise material which otherwise was potentially watchable to material that is--well, watchable. One reviewer suggested that it would have been better had Ginger gone off to solve the mystery with Detective Purnell Pratt as they had better chemistry than she had with Talbot, and I believe that I agree with that idea. Still, with a fast forward button in hand, SHRIEK does provide the viewer with some pleasant scenes.

Few people would doubt that Ginger Rogers always brought a lot of pep into her movie roles. From that standpoint, she was sure aptly named. While she may be remembered most for her several great song and dance films with Fred Astaire, Ginger was an established actress well before that time. And, she had some excellent dramatic, comedy and suspense roles throughout her long career of entertaining audiences. She won an Oscar as best actress for her title role in the 1940 film, "Kitty Foyle."

"A Shriek in the Night" is one of Rogers' early roles. Although it's billed as a comedy first, this film is best described as a mystery- thriller. There's plenty of crime and a little light-heartedness, but the best stuff of this movie is the mystery. It's a good whodunit. The cast all are good, but none are exceptional. The sets are good, and the plot is very interesting. Nevertheless, the "B" level of this film is evident in the rest of the production. The direction, screenplay, and editing are weak.

Still, there's intrigue enough to keep one guessing until the very end. So, it's a satisfying mystery-thriller that should please most audiences.

(I thought I had submitted these comments in March 2014, but apparently I failed to hit the SUBMIT button).

This is a good mystery-thriller from the 1930s... it's got enough comedy in it to bust up all the drama unfolding on the screen to keep the film more interesting. There is quite a bit of dark humor in this tale.

This is one of Ginger Rogers cutest roles; she plays Pat Morgan a reporter that is getting the scoop on the murders taking place while her rival reporter, Ted Kord (Lyle Talbot), works on the same case to report. These two rivals find themselves working closer together to help solve the crimes while falling in love.

What is big scoop? Who is killing people in the apartment building and why? If you like comedy mystery-thrillers then I would recommend watching this movie to find out the answers - it's an entertaining film.

8/10

A little cheesy, and the stars lack the chemistry of, say, Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Plus the poster gives away the ending, so don't look at it if you plan to watch the movie. Still, Ginger is awesome in this early entry in her career.