Before Midnight

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.

Good, tight murder mystery that is brief and no-nonsense in its approach. It is a pre-code film but there's nothing here that might have been objectionable at the time. Also missing is the 30's habit of inserting comic relief into a story that doesn't need any, and this one doesn't need it. George Cooper plays Stubby, a dim-witted assistant detective who comes off as dim-witted but not as comic relief.

Ralph Bellamy is Detective Trent, trying to solve a murder that takes place on a dark and stormy (and very noisy) night in a mansion with the usual suspects roaming around. What strikes you is the tone of all players, and especially Bellamy, as there is not a hint of the good-natured warmth or friendliness normally found in most pictures of this or any other kind - just a group grimly determined to get to the bottom of the proceedings. No jokes, no romance, just the facts.

Nevertheless, it is well worth your time. It is an old-fashioned whodunnit that will challenge your own powers of deduction - and no laughing, please.

A very young Ralph Bellamy plays Trent who was a character in other mysteries. A man living in fear that he may be murdered, dies in front of everyone. Trent begins to investigate. What follows is a decent plot, but the slow and ponderous pace and the stilted language make it sort of dull. Of course, the sound limitations of the time affected everything. I'm interested to see other Trent movies. He is one of the most dedicated smokers I have ever seen. There are seven or eight scenes where he lights up and blows smoke in the air, even in a science lab. Either Bellamy had some serious nicotine needs or it was typical of the character. Nevertheless, this works decently in the Dark and Stormy Night category.

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.

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