Before Midnight

From Nov 1933-Aug 1934, Columbia released a forgotten quartet of features starring dependable Ralph Bellamy in the role of Inspector Steve Trent, with "Before Midnight" the first, followed by "One is Guilty," "The Crime of Helen Stanley," and "Girl in Danger." Since only "One is Guilty" is unavailable, one can judge the series by at least three titles, but it's clear that this modest initial entry has more horror touches in its setup. On a dark and stormy night, Inspector Trent is called to the isolated mansion of Edward Arnold (William Jeffrey), who believes he's soon to be murdered based on a family curse involving a pool of blood and a clock that stops. Director Lambert Hillyer proves he was no slouch at delivering oppressive atmosphere (better known for "The Invisible Ray" and "Dracula's Daughter"), and the whodunit aspects are also first rate. Lovely leading lady June Collyer starred opposite Bela Lugosi in a 1935 mystery, "Murder by Television," before giving up acting to enjoy life as the wife of Stuart Erwin. Bellamy solved quite a few cases ("Rendezvous at Midnight," "The Final Hour") before he started playing detective Ellery Queen in 1940, eventually settling into a solid character career that lasted 60 years.

"Before Midnight" was done in 1933, before "The Thin Man," when the style of mysteries would become a little breezier, more stylish, and employ more humor. Ralph Bellamy stars here as Inspector Trent, out to solve a very complicated murder. It has that "dark and stormy night" feel to it, but it's done with a straightforward seriousness, without the good-natured laughter of someone like Warren William or the tipsiness of a William Powell. As Trent, Bellamy interrogates like a real cop: "You did it, didn't you!" The story, however, is very good.

I'm always amazed to see Ralph Bellamy as a young man and realize what a long, huge career he had. His first film was in 1931 (stage from 1929), at the age of 27, and his last was "Pretty Woman" in 1990, one year before he died. Here he's a lead, but as someone else pointed out, he probably lacked the excitement of a true leading man and was soon relegated to supporting roles. As a stage actor and as an older man, he really thrived on stage, in film, and on television; besides doing "Tomorrow the World" and "State of the Union" on Broadway, he enjoyed a tremendous success as FDR in "Sunrise at Campobello" in 1959.

"Before Midnight" will keep you interested. What it lacks in pace and style, it makes up for in story.

The action takes place at a country house in Forest Hills 50 miles from New York. It begins with Mr Arnold the owner telling Inspector Trent that he is afraid that a family curse may come true. Mr Arnold is frightened for his life as he has been warned of his imminent death. His grandfather died in mysterious circumstances after a pool of fresh blood had appeared on the floor and the house's main clock had stopped as omens of his death. Now people have gathered at Mr Arnold's house on a stormy night when Mr Arnold dies apparently of a heart attack brought on by fright after the same ominous signs occur.

This mystery poses some intriguing questions for us. What is it about Mr Arnold's 35 year stay in China that would have anything to do with his death? What is so sinister about the Buddha incense burner alone when there are other incense burners in the house? What is the item in Mr Arnold's room that is of interest to people who go there to search for it?

There are some of the usual 1930s country house thriller characters in this. The house staff are a housekeeper and a maid and a Japanese houseboy but no sinister butler this time round. Among the other suspects are a secretary and an attorney and a doctor. Be prepared to be baffled by whether people are who they appear to be or not. This is a good atmospheric whodunit from the Columbia Studio.

Before Midnight (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A man invited Detective Trent (Ralph Bellamy) over to share his fears that he's about to be murdered. A few minutes later the man is dead and it's up to the detective to try and figure out how he was murder and who did it. This is yet another entry in the seemingly never-ending "old dark house" genre. As usual, we're given a murder, a hero and countless suspects. We also get the usual clichés that you find in a film like this. I've seen dozens, if not hundreds of these films and it's hard to find one that offers up anything new original and this one here is no different. Even though the film doesn't offer anything too new, it does feature a couple very good twists that I didn't see coming and Bellamy is as entertaining as always. I think what really makes the film work is the performance by Bellamy who really knows how to mix up the charm, comedy and seriousness. He does very good with the role and manages to work well with all the other actors and can deliver whatever the film is needing in any scene. June Collyer is pretty good as the woman various men want and Claude Gillingwater is good in his role as well. Fred "Snowflake" Toones plays the black taxi driver and delivers most of the "comedy" in the film. The screenplay pretty much follows every "old dark house" film that preceded it as we get a complicated murder, the investigation and countless people lying to try and cover up their involvement. What was so funny here is that the screenplay was quite lazy in terms of the characters and their lies. A character would start lying to cover up what he did, Bellamy would ask a single question and then the character would break down and admit what they did. This happens at least five times in the film and one begins to wonder why at least one of them wouldn't try to get away with the lie at least a second time before admitting what they had done. This Columbia film runs a brief 63-minutes and should keep fans of the genre entertained. Others should probably seek out one of the better entries.

The film is told in flashback by a chief of police to a detective looking for a promotion. The Arnold case, he says is the sort of case that when solved warrants a promotion. Ralph Bellamy is Inspector Trent of the New York Detective Bureau. Called to Forest Lake and the Arnold residence, Trent is asked to look into a possible murder in the offing. It seems Arnold is a superstitious man and any time blood was found under the portrait on an ancestor the head of the house hold dies the next day. Time is running out. As Arnold shows Trent the second part of the superstition, a clock that stops a minute before the murder, the clock stops, a window bursts open and Arnold dies.

A complicated and pre-code murder mystery this is almost a straight forward police procedural as we watch Trent try to solve the case. Bellamy plays Trent in a no nonsense hard boiled style that is atypical of mysteries of this sort. Of course there is no way to know whats going on since some of the goings on are so convoluted that you can't figure it out unless they tell you. Still its a good movie who's complication keep you interested. Certainly not a great film, it is a very good one that bears a second viewing just so you can see what you missed.

Definitely worth seeing.

6.5 out out of 10 rounded up to 7 out of 10 for IMDb purposes