It’s been a while since we’ve discussed a Poverty Row film, and this is a good one to discuss. Although it falls into the “when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all” formula of many early film talkies, with a fast-talking female news reporter investigating a murder and getting further with it than the police, it has a couple unique characteristics.
I’m thinking of the blueprint used for Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) which was released five months earlier than A Shriek in the Night. For me, that’s the gold standard. The two movies are similar in many ways, with two exceptions. The mystery is less original, and Ginger Rogers is no Glenda Farrell.
Rogers plays Pat Morgan, a spunky reporter who lives in the apartment building where one of the residents falls to his death from an upper-floor window. Questioned about the “accident,” she fails to reveal her occupation. What starts as a friendly collaboration with Inspector Russell (Purnell Pratt) ends with a bitter rivalry.
However, the primary rivalry is between Morgan and a different man, competing reporter Ted Rand (Lyle Talbot.) In my favorite subplot, she accidentally dictates her story to him (not knowing it was him) and he steals the story from her. She later plots revenge by feeding him a fake story, but I won’t spoil the final twist of the saga, which is clever and fun.
The screenplay by Frances Hyland is sharp. She began her 62-film career at the end of the Silent Age and wrote two other notable murder/mysteries: The Thirteenth Guest (1932) and The Intruder (1933.) No, A Shriek in the Night is not technically a horror film, but with a growing body count of strangled victims, and talk of fingernails “broken off,” I’ll allow it.
Director Albert Ray cut his teeth on short films during the Silent Age, then moved into full length movies in 1926 and into the Golden Age where his career ended in 1939. He also directed the two films that Frances Hyland wrote. There were probably others as collaboration was fast and frequent on Poverty Row.
Although there’s not a consistent style to A Shriek in the Night, there are a few interesting shots that stand out. First, behind the credits stands the tall apartment building, obviously not real and I thought it was just artwork for the titles. But when the words disappeared, the camera zooms in toward the building.
In general, I don’t expect much camera movement in films from the early 1930s, but there’s also a shot where the camera whips from window to window to capture the reactions of various residents looking down at the courtyard after the first murder. After this, the action settles to stagy, motionless scenes. At one point I asked, was this originally a stage play?
I wouldn’t call A Shriek in the Night a comedy, but there are some very funny exchanges among the characters. There’s also a little bit, but not too much, of humor from the era which tends to make us uncomfortable 89-years later. Russell’s assistant, Wilfred (Arthur Hoyt) is there simply for ridicule, but unexpectedly gets the last laugh.
As mentioned, in one of her early film roles, Ginger Rogers isn’t quite suited for the role. Her movements are deliberate and cartoony. The same year, she got to put those movements to better use with Fred Astaire in Flying Down to Rio, beginning a period of true stardom in 10 classic musicals.
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