Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940)

A gloomy old mansion on a stormy night, the murders of the patriarch and matriarch of an old Atlanta money family, a dumb detective, strangers peaking inside windows, fights on darkened stairs and scaredy cat black servants. About as believable as an episode of "Scooby Doo", yet well cast with dependable character players. It also laughs at the often repeated plot by having radio show writer Wendy Barrie criticized by the wisecracking John Hubbard for writing such dribble. Edgar Kennedy as the slow burning idiot investigator, Elizabeth Patterson as the matriarch who gathers the clan together, Mona Barrie as a bitchy member of the family and Willie Best as the nervous valet are among the clichéd characters who pop in and out of the messy screenplay. Scattered laughs here and there, but not much else.

Well I would have to give it a 10 because it frightened the life out of me when I saw it shortly after it came out at the Vogue Cinema, Stoke Newington, London and I had asked someone I didn't know to take me into the cinema because it was an 'A' (Adults only) film. Things were a lot safer in those days because all the men were in the services. It scared me so much I had to change seats and sit next to a couple of women for comfort but then I was only 9 at the time - it was wartime in London and were going through the bombing so my nerves were probably on edge and perhaps I would only rate it one today if I saw it again. But at 80 - what do I know? I'm no critic. Anyway perhaps children today, if they saw it, might see the film as being a bit spooky today.

Call me bewildered, this one gets a 8.9 out of 10 by the people rating the films here at IMDb. All I have to say is what version did they see? Its good but it's not that good.The plot of this film has a writer of radio show and the sponsor in love and fighting on the wedding day. He can't believe that anyone would buy into the old dark house radio show she's written. She bails on the wedding and heads home where strange things are going on much like her radio show. Her beau eventually arrives and thinks its all a joke, except its not.Good old dark house spoof ala haunted honeymoon or similar films suffers from way too much comedy (there is no tension) and a way too knowing attitude (there is no tension). Its not bad, but it isn't a 9 out of ten, think more like six, maybe seven out of ten.

"Who Killed Aunt Maggie?" is very typical of the B-movie mystery. It takes place in a remote and spooky old house. And most of the action takes place on a dark and stormy night.All the clichés of this type of film are used. Secret passageways, cut phone lines (so no one can call the police), disabled cars (also, so no one can fetch the police). It has three murders, disappearing corpses, a secret diary written in code, and even a black cat thrown in for good measure.Sounds like a lot of tripe? Well it is, but it's handled with great skill by a veteran cast of character actors. Elizabeth Patterson as Aunt Maggie is wonderful. Willie Best, typecast as the terrified black butler, does a great job with his material (and he was given some pretty good lines). In fact, his comic talent does much to carry this story. Edgar Kennedy as the sheriff does his usual "slow burn" routines, Wendie Barrie is her at her best, and the staid Walter Abel is typically poker-faced. The rest of the cast does a great job as well.It's fairly easy to figure out who the killer is, but who cares? I always enjoy watching this programmer and I recommend it to anyone who can find it! (It's not easy digging up a copy of this film). I'm a fan of B-movie spooky-house mysteries, and was delighted to see this film. I rated it 9.