Invoking the name of Charlie Chan at least three times in the story doesn't help this one get too far. I don't doubt that Chan could have come up with a solution to the murder mystery as well as Bela Lugosi, but his explanation might have been a lot more sensible. Scofield as the killer came way out of left field, but then again, so did the culprit in a lot of these era movies. Don't bother looking for clues along the way because nothing seems to tie together until the final scene brings it all home.
Here's something I couldn't figure out. How about that character who kept trying to break into the Houghland home. Why didn't he ever come under suspicion? After police chief Nelson (Henry Mowbray) ordered everyone to remain in the house, Nelson's men kept throwing the guy out!
Hey, how about that big screen TV - way ahead of it's time! But who knew that the radiation used to produce the picture could combine with Scofield's wave transmissions to create a 'death ray' - Yikes! How did Scofield figure that out? The biggest mystery here is how the film makers stopped laughing long enough to commit this picture to celluloid.
Lugosi fans will want to see this one, and he plays it fairly straight the entire way. That's probably the film's only recommendation, besides Hattie McDaniel in a few brief scenes providing comic relief as the Hougland maid Isabella. She might have been commenting on her role in this clunker when she exclaimed - "Is my face red"?
Here's something I couldn't figure out. How about that character who kept trying to break into the Houghland home. Why didn't he ever come under suspicion? After police chief Nelson (Henry Mowbray) ordered everyone to remain in the house, Nelson's men kept throwing the guy out!
Hey, how about that big screen TV - way ahead of it's time! But who knew that the radiation used to produce the picture could combine with Scofield's wave transmissions to create a 'death ray' - Yikes! How did Scofield figure that out? The biggest mystery here is how the film makers stopped laughing long enough to commit this picture to celluloid.
Lugosi fans will want to see this one, and he plays it fairly straight the entire way. That's probably the film's only recommendation, besides Hattie McDaniel in a few brief scenes providing comic relief as the Hougland maid Isabella. She might have been commenting on her role in this clunker when she exclaimed - "Is my face red"?