THE NINTH GUEST

Genevieve Tobin and Hardie Albright

THE NINTH GUEST (1934). Director: Roy William Neill.

A group of people who know and who often vehemently dislike one another receive telegrams inviting them to a party in a penthouse. Once there, they wait to find out who the host is, but -- before you can say *Ten Little Indians or And Then There Were None -- they hear a strange voice on a recording telling of past misdeeds and warning that they are all going to die. The phone lines are cut, and the gate leading to the elevator is wired for electricity. The frantic arguing guests include Jean (Genevieve Tobin), who once was the lover of newspaper man, Jim (Donald Cook); Sylvia (Helen Flint), who has marital secrets; disgraced Mayoral candidate Burke (Charles C. Wilson); Henry Abbott (Hardie Albright), who was thrown out of school by Dr. Reid (Samuel S. Hinds); and several others. What's especially remarkable about The Ninth Guest is that it actually *pre-dates the publication  of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians by five years. The Ninth Guest boasts a very fast pace, not too much comedy relief to spoil the tense atmosphere, a very generous amount of suspense, some interesting psychological aspects, and good acting, especially from Flint [Give Me Your Heart] and Albright [The Crash]. Roy William Neill also directed a whole host of wonderful Sherlock Holmes films. NOTE: You can find this movie at Free Classic Movies.

Verdict: Worthwhile and quite entertaining suspense film -- possibly an influence on Christie -- with some "shocking" sequences. ***.

SHE (1935)

Helen Gahagan as "She"

SHE (1935). Directors: Lansing C. Holden; Irving Pichel. Colorized version. Based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard.

John Vincey (Samuel S. Hinds), who is dying of radiation poisoning, tells his nephew, Leo (Randolph Scott), that he can find the secret of immortality by finding the flame in a lost civilization which was first discovered by Leo's lookalike ancestor. Leo, Horace Holly (Nigel Bruce), and Tonya (Helen Mack of Son of Kong), whom they sort of pick up along the way, travel through a frigid wasteland and after an avalanche discover the cavern that leads to this lost land. There they find a bunch of unfriendly savages, but they also find -- "She" (Helen Gahagan), the absolute ruler of this weird little empire. She has lived for centuries, and thinks Leo is his ancestor, John, whom she actually murdered many years before. Now she wants to sacrifice Tonya ... She, superior to the sixties remake, has some striking settings, good special effects (for the period), and is well-acted by the two ladies. Bruce is less effective than he was as Dr. Watson, and Scott [Go West Young Man] is embarrassingly awful as the hero. The best scene depicts a thrilling fight on a high precipice that keeps tottering during the battle. Elaborately produced for its time, She was probably an influence, unconscious or otherwise, on such cruel-queen-in-strange-settings movies as Queen of Outer Space and many others. [At least this society has the Arts, evidenced by the dancing and statuary.] This is an entertaining adventure film, but Max Steiner's excellent score probably makes it seem even better than it is. The big gate from King Kong shows up early in the film. A singer and politician, Gahagan only appeared in this one movie.

Verdict: Interesting adaptation of classic adventure story. ***.