The Criminal Within

"Murder at Glen Athol" is a B-movie with a limited budget and mostly no-name stars. John Miljan stars in the film and he has a face you might recognize--he played bad guys in quite a few Bs. He was a pretty good actor and his lovely voice sounded a lot like a combination of Otto Kruger's and Charles Butterworth's--but he never became a big star. Instead, he found steady work in lower-budget films. Here in this film, however, it's one of those times where he actually got to play the hero--and he did a nice job of it.

Miljan plays a famous detective who is on vacation. And, like most famous factional detectives (such as Charlie Chan and Jessica Fletcher), a vacation means someone will get murdered and this cop will get called in to help the locals solve the crime. This is just one of those screen clichés you'll just need to accept without questioning.

So why did I like it enough to give it a 7 (which is a very high score for a B)? Well, the acting and production values were surprisingly good, the murder mystery and how Miljan's character dealt with the murders was unique and I liked the sidekick--who, though a bit dumb, wasn't THAT dumb and often was quite handy--something that you couldn't say about most detective sidekicks (such as Birmingham Brown or Dr. Watson). All in all, an enjoyable film that managed to be a bit better than you'd expect. And, considering you can download it free from the link on IMDb, that's plenty of reason to see it.

Before this film gets down to its real purpose as a standard Poverty Row low-budget who-done-it, there are a few scenes superbly acted and stolen by the young Iris Adrian as a mad cap society girl. Iris went on and on for years playing bit parts as a blowzy wise-cracking loud mouth in another 160 films but this film demonstrates what a first-rate actress she was. She might have gone on to a more brilliant career had anyone recognized how gifted she was. Irene Ware, the leading lady here, is very beautiful and very wooden. Just another face, but Iris is something else.

Murder at Glen Athol is a neat little mystery with a bit of comedy, a bit of romance, a bit of gangster picture thrown in—not much of any of those other elements, just enough to keep the viewer slightly off-balance. John Miljan is vacationing detective Bill Holt, a man who keeps his own balance, deftly managing a variety of suspects, the usual dumb cops, and a quickly-developing love affair with Jane Maxwell (played by Irene Ware), who is given brief consideration as a suspect but obviously works better as a love interest.

John Miljan is more familiar as the scheming crook he played in so many movies, but here at the center of this story he gets a chance to show some strong qualities as a lead, and some versatility in the range of his relationships with the other characters. His banter with James Burtis, the requisite housekeeper/assistant/right-hand man, is light but amusing enough. (Miljan's attempt to take a vacation and write his memoirs is interrupted in the film's opening scene by Burtis's insistent vacuuming around the desk Miljan is typing at.) His interactions with the various suspects are cool and cautious, as he isn't (and we aren't) sure just who might take a shot at him, stick a knife in him, or whack him on the side of the head. (Those things do seem to happen in this particular house he's visiting.) He shows deference to the police investigators, but doesn't throw away any valuable clues by turning them over, either.

Miljan's romance with Irene Ware is perhaps the oddest of these relationships. I'm not overly picky, and I know things have to move fast in a 64-minute movie, but this detective drops some lines that are awfully sappy for as serious-minded a character as he otherwise seems. Entering the gambling room at the house party, she declines to play, but he thinks he'll take a whirl at the roulette table anyway: "No matter what happens, it'll still be the luckiest night of my life." "Why do you say that?" she wonders. "Oh," he replies, "I just happened to meet a girl named Jane Maxwell." --Even Jane Maxwell finds this a bit much, and laughingly answers, "Well, come on, Mr. Detective, we'll see how lucky you are."

The mystery elements are done well; the picture moves along at a splendid clip. Well worth a viewing.

Reuben Marshall plays a detective on vacation in a ritzy suburb writing about his exploits when invited to a party where death visits a couple of the guests. Marshall, his Irish sidekick in tow, discovers who the culprit is in this very interesting little mystery dealing with an above-average mystery plot. The story has several red herrings laced into it and is compelling for its age and era. The acting is nothing spectacular, but everyone concerned does a workmanlike job. There is also a generous dose of humour within the mystery. Some of the characterizations are very one-dimensional, yet, as a whole, the picture is generally well-crafted. I think it is odd that the film does not have a little more noteriety as it is a much better film than many mysteries of the same period.

"Murder at Glen Athol" (although it could have been anywhere, but never mind, the location sounds interesting - and the MURDER, or rather the murders, certainly are MORE than interesting!) really has got ALL the ingredients of an absolutely first-class 'whodunit', with first and best a REALLY clever, intricate plot that's SURE to make you rack your brains a good deal, but just about 'fair' enough (no clues being held back or anything like that) for an eager and 'experienced' crime fan to find the solution.

And the moderate means of production DON'T change the fact that this movie is WAY superior to most of the other B murder mysteries of the time (and that's certainly saying something, because the 30s were the very apogee of the genre), and can even compete easily with quite some of the best A movie productions of the type! The acting is marvelous (although John Miljan, Irene Ware, and even Iris Adrian today remain familiar names probably only to real B movie friends - and yet they did better than MANY of their colleagues who are still famous today), and the film as a whole is very neatly balanced between murder mystery, gangster action, a touch of romance and a good dose of humor.

It's a REAL shame that today only absolute freaks seem to know of this little masterpiece (even I myself didn't know about its existence until recently); because it could provide GREAT suspense and entertainment for EVERY fan of classic movies - so if you ever come across it, DON'T miss it; and don't forget to make it known to others as well!