One Frightened Night

Intriguing, better-than-average old house thriller where a cantankerous old millionaire decides to give his money to his heirs whilst still alive - providing of course his lost granddaughter from a runaway daughter continues NOT to be found. But on this one frightening night - a granddaughter arrives as does mischief, mayhem, and murder. One Frightened Night, made for Mascot Pictures, is cheaply made and has no major stars; however, it does more with what it does have than in some A List movies of the same period. The opening with the title names put on shades drawn throughout the opening title sequence had me at once, and then actor Charley Grapewin, Uncle Henry from The Wizard of Oz and Inspector Queen from the Ellery Queen movie series, comes on and chews up so much scenery with his cantankerous old codger bit that you end up loving his character from the first moment you see him. Obviously the similarities with this film and The Cat and the Canary are going to be made - and with good reason as both have much in common: a similar story with similar plot twists, a cast of greedy relatives/friends, secret passageways and burning candles, an austere, humorless old maiden of a maid, light comedy amidst the backdrop of murder, and much more. This film is certainly not as polished as that one but a great deal of fun nonetheless. I love the dialog in this film - particularly that of Grapewin but also of Wallace Ford as the "Great Luvalle" and Fred Kelsey as Sheriff Jenks. In one scene Grapewin learns that one of his annoying, greedy relatives, a somewhat hysterical woman won't talk at all anymore and someone says something to that effect. Grapewin looks on dubiously and says something to the effect that she was a remarkable woman for not speaking at all and keeping silent. Such humor is pervasive throughout. One Frightened Night is just good, old-fashioned fun. Period.

"An aging eccentric millionaire gathers his heirs and informs them that he intends to give his fortune to his granddaughter, if she appears before midnight, otherwise the five of them will split the estate. Two women arrive claiming to be the long-lost granddaughter, which upsets all of the other relatives. When one of the women ends up dead, suspicion falls upon everyone who potentially would benefit form the elimination of the other heirs," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

For the umpteenth time, a group of interconnecting people gather at a spooky mansion, hope to collect a fortune, and become murder victims (or suspects) - it's a very familiar plot. But, "One Frightened Night" manages to always seem cleverer than it is. Director Christy Cabanne, who was often hired to keep thing moving, does just that, while managing to throw in some of the flair he more often neglected. It's nice to see an older actor, Charley Grapewin (as Jasper Wythe), taking the lead; and, the rest of the cast circumvents him well.

***** One Frightened Night (1935) Christy Cabanne ~ Charley Grapewin, Mary Carlisle, Wallace Ford

John Stanley's Creature Feature Film Guide calls this film "dusty fun" and I have to agree wholeheartedly. The formula and gags are quite dated but still retain a charm that lends so much to the enjoyment. I don't think I've met anyone who has a negative opinion of this film. I first saw it back in the early 80's on PBS's Matinée at the Bijou. It was cut pretty severely, about 10 or 15 minutes, to fit the time schedule, but lost nothing of it's story or characterizations. I loved it from the start. What a blessing to find it intact from Creepy Classics back in 95, and now from Alpha on DVD. A great cast of character actors ranging from "Dorothy's uncle" to "that crabby guy who ran the orphanage in the little Rascals.....now Spanky be reasonable!" A movie like this can't be made these days, and I imagine a great deal of the population would pass this right by were any station to show it. This is a real forgotten gem that should be watched if the occasion arises. BTW I don't think Hedda Hopper is Jasper's daughter. She always refers to him by his name and doesn't call him father. Also, at one point she says of Jasper's "daughter" "she doesn't look much like her mother does she?" I believe she may be a cousin or perhaps his sister.

Jasper Whyte calls all of his associates and friends (few in number) to his house (on a night with plenty of rain, thunder, and lightning) to give away all of his estate before an inheritance tax would lessen the amount. One million dollars is to be given to relative Tom Dean, maid Elvira, Dr. Denham, lawyer Felix, and another relative, Laura Proctor (and her husband Arthur). When Felix arrives at the mansion, he brings a woman who claims to be Doris Waverly, Whyte's long lost granddaughter. Seeing his only true heir, Whyte decides to give all of his money to her, which obviously ticks off all the others. Things however become more complicated when another woman comes to the mansion claiming to be Doris Waverly (arriving with her vaudeville partner, the Great Lavelle- a magician). Whyte asks the two woman to confront each other, but the first Doris is found murdered in her room. Whyte and Dean send for the police in order to find out who the first woman was and who had her killed, and Doris (the second and real one) must be able to survive until midnight when she gets her inheritance. Very good "Old Dark House" type mystery, with a lot of similarities to The Cat and the Canary, with the young woman inheriting everything while all other members are shut out. Grapewin (as Whyte) and Ford (as Lavelle) play their roles to the hilt which helps the movie and the rest of the cast give adequate performances. Cabanne's direction and the rest of the production crew are able to maintain the mystery and suspense quite well, but its nothing to go ape over. Rating, 7.

This has a terrific opening with the credits played onto a window and it's shade during a storm. Those mugshots of the actors being introduced to us are good and a little creepy in some cases.

Jasper Whyte invites his relatives to his house. He wants to spread his wealth among them before the new inheritance comes into force at midnight. His plans go awry when his long lost granddaughter turns up to change his mind. Then another complication results in a murder which occurs just before the half-hour mark.

Charley Grapewin is very good as the old buzzard Jasper. He played Ellery Queen's father in the detective series from 1940 to 1942. Jasper is definitely the pick of the characters for me. He describes his family as a hungry pack of wolves as he takes delight in taking back the million dollars each he has just given them when his plans are about to be changed.

The comedy isn't overplayed and doesn't interfere with the mystery aspect of the story too much. The action includes a faked identity and poisoned coffee and a locked room murder. There are some good moments which almost tempts me to take it to the next level of rating. But it just falls short of the country house thriller classics of the period.