A Shriek in the Night (1933)

So much average

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is a good mystery-thriller from the 1930s... it's got enough comedy in it to bust up all the drama unfolding on the screen to keep the film more interesting. There is quite a bit of dark humor in this tale.This is one of Ginger Rogers cutest roles; she plays Pat Morgan a reporter that is getting the scoop on the murders taking place while her rival reporter, Ted Kord (Lyle Talbot), works on the same case to report. These two rivals find themselves working closer together to help solve the crimes while falling in love.What is big scoop? Who is killing people in the apartment building and why? If you like comedy mystery-thrillers then I would recommend watching this movie to find out the answers - it's an entertaining film.8/10

"Rival reporters Pat Morgan (Ginger Rogers) and Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot) are always trying to out-scoop each other on stories. The latest involves the mysterious death of a philanthropist who fell to his death after a shriek was heard from his penthouse apartment. The two reporters start out as rivals but combine efforts to solve the crime and write the story when more residents of the apartment building turn up dead," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.This said-to-be follow-up to "The Thirteenth Guest" has little to do with the earlier movie; it is not a sequel, as has been inferred. Ms. Rogers continues to develop her skills. Mr. Talbot adds a little humor to his characterization. They are a pleasant team, the plot is interesting and mysterious; but, the resulting film is very dull. The opening and closing are startling. A long-winded wrap-up of plot development points follows the climax.*** A Shriek in the Night (1933) Albert Ray ~ Ginger Rogers, Lyle Talbot, Harvey Clark

This is a pseudo-sequel to the 13the Guest which starred Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot, who star here.It begins with a body falling off the building and hitting the pavement... we see it hit the pavement. What follows is a series of murders in and around an apartment building, some of which is rather dark for what we think of as a 1930's mystery, but then again its pre-code so some of whats said is more than a little blue.I can't believe this is the follow up to The 13th Guest since Ginger is so stiff and much of her performance consists of smoking. She smokes a lot here and its almost pathological. Yes she has a great deal of screen time and is the lead but the role isn't well written.Yes the dialog is snappy and the mystery interesting but at times it feels too long even at 66 minutes. Its the fact that at times the events double back on themselves, I think because the budget was low.Does that mean its a bad movie, no, its not. Its quite good but The 13th Guest is better. If you can get them as a pair or get this with something else then by all means do so, but don't get this on its own, unless you get it for about five bucks or the cost of a rental.

While this isn't one of Ginger Rogers' best films, for one of her first films AND with a low-budget studio, it's amazingly good. You would think that because she's still a relative unknown and the total budget was a pittance compared to most films that it would stink, but it's a watchable film with a few shining moments.Apart from the sight of a man being tossed onto the pavement from MANY stories above, the first thing you'll probably notice is that Miss Rogers looks a lot different from her later films. She isn't so glamorous--with her hair and makeup looking more ordinary. This isn't to say she looked bad--it's just that her Hollywood image wasn't yet set in stone.She is ably supported by a young and handsome Lyle Talbot--who was very good though his career soon seemed to come to a standstill--cursed to star in mostly 3rd rate productions during the bulk of his career (such as his being in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE). In addition, there are a few funny support characters (the maid and the police detective) that are amazingly dumb and the butt of a lot of jokes.The film is a nice little murder mystery with Ginger being a reporter posing as the murdered man's secretary. There's a lot more to it than that but if I tell it would spoil the suspense. I only want to point out that I thought the identity of the murderer was excellent--it wasn't someone you'd immediately guess. Plus, it's really cool to see the killer trying to murder one of his victims by shoving her into a furnace--now THAT'S original.