The Thirteenth Chair

The Thirteenth Chair (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Remake of the 1929 Tod Browning film (which itself was a remake of a 1920 film) about a medium (Dame May Witty) who is brought into try and solve the murder of a man but during the séance another man ends up murdered. Now the detective (Lewis Stone) must try and figure out which person done it. This version of THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR is actually better than the previous one thanks in large part to some nice performances, good direction by George B. Seitz and a good story. If you've seen the 1929 version then you're going to notice that there haven't been too many changes here story-wise but what really makes this one work better is that Seitz does a much better job in the director's chair. Whereas that 1929 version was incredibly flat, this one here actually moves at a very nice pace and there are some effective moments throughout. The séance scenes are also extremely well-done and especially the one where the medium works alone. The opening title card gives Witty a huge credit and she is quite good here. She'll always be best remembered for her role in Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES but she's very believable here. The supporting cast is equally good with Stone turning in a fun performance as the detective and we've also got Henry Daniell playing one of the members of the party. Madge Evans, Elissa Landi and Thomas Beck are also good. The story itself has a few questionable moments but it's still effective enough for this type of "B" movie. Fans of this type of murder-mystery should really enjoy this one.

This has to be my favorite seance movie. Dame May Whitty is in her one and only main lead feature role here. She plays a medium of humble background who is sought by society people for her 'powers.' She enters a big grand house and has to endure all the skeptical jokes bandied upon her. However she is able to rebound jokes back at her well-heeled customers. Henry Daniell plays the man who believes in her powers. He has instigated the seance in order to find the name of a murderer. Rather than wondering about the whodunit aspect of the story, I found myself more concerned for the proven innocence of one of the suspects. It's revealed that the medium is more involved with one of the suspects than we know at the beginning. After the first seance produces another murder, a second seance is held. The medium finds true inspiration at last and fetches out the murderer at her second attempt.

Inspector Marney (Lewis Stone) investigates the murder of a man in Calcutta. When John Wales (Henry Daniell), a friend of the dead man, decides to hold a seance with the suspects, Marney finds himself with another murder on his hands.

Coming in at a brisk 66 minutes, The Thirteenth Chair is an entertaining mystery film. It shows its stage origins, mainly taking place on the same two or three sets, but the director keeps things moving at a good pace. May Whitty is the standout among the cast, but Lewis Stone is good as the police inspector. 3.5/5

There is nothing wrong with this film. It's just pretty lightweight. It does have a nice cast and the theme of the supernatural helps keep one's interest. When the chief character admits to being a charlatan, we would think there would be a slide downward. However, Dame Mae Witty, who is no stranger to mystery, having played the role of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in several films, manages to put life in this when she has to abandon her "talents" and figure out a way to solve the case and keep an innocent person from being charged with murder. There are other supporting actors who are great characters and a tight little plot that takes only a little over an hour to run its course. I have a soft place in my heart for these early British detective pieces.

During a séance to draw out a murderer, another murder is committed. Psychic medium Dame May Witty works to solve both murders, which becomes personal when one of the prime suspects is someone close to her. Pretty good B murder mystery from MGM with a great cast. Dame May Witty, Lewis Stone, Henry Daniell, Holmes Herbert, and Charles Trowbridge are all class acts. Madge Evans and Elissa Landi are lovely. A good way to spend an hour and change. Remake of a movie made twice before, most notably by Tod Browning in 1929 with Bela Lugosi and Conrad Nagel. White-haired Lewis Stone's mustache is so light you can barely make it out but kudos to him for trying. If you haven't seen it, try to avoid reading much about it as most plot descriptions (including the TCM info) give away a fairly big plot point.