The Thirteenth Chair (1937)

There is nothing wrong with this film. It's just pretty lightweight. It does have a nice cast and the theme of the supernatural helps keep one's interest. When the chief character admits to being a charlatan, we would think there would be a slide downward. However, Dame Mae Witty, who is no stranger to mystery, having played the role of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in several films, manages to put life in this when she has to abandon her "talents" and figure out a way to solve the case and keep an innocent person from being charged with murder. There are other supporting actors who are great characters and a tight little plot that takes only a little over an hour to run its course. I have a soft place in my heart for these early British detective pieces.

Hard to believe that "The Thirteenth Chair" was made in 1937, as for some reason it feels like it was made much earlier. The film stars Dame May Witty, Lewis Stone, Ralph Forbes, Madge Evans, Elissa Landi, and Holmes Herbert.The police, led by Lewis Stone, are investigating the murder of one Lionel Leigh; his best friend (Henry Daniell) suggests a séance, which will be led by Rosalie LaGrange (Dame May Witty). Unfortunately a death occurs.This is a short programmer; not only is it a decent mystery, but it was fun to see some séance "tricks" revealed as well.Good cast of old-timers.

The description of the plot given by TCM on its cable showing of this little MGM movie from 1937 made me want to watch it--something about a woman holding a seance to prove that her daughter is not the murderer and with a setting in Colonial India. Then I saw the cast names: DAME MAY Witty, LEWIS STONE, MADGE EVANS, RALPH FORBES, ROBERT COOTE...and immediately I decided to watch it.Not disappointed. It's a tidy little mystery, nothing original or approaching the wit and wisdom of Agatha Christite's tales, but interesting nevertheless. Dame May Witty is the protective mother who helps inspector LEWIS STONE solve the case--and, happily for me, it turned out to be someone I suspected all along.A crisp one hour and six minute programmer from MGM given all the polish one would expect from a major studio. The elaborate sets add the necessary atmosphere, except for the seance itself which is held in total darkness and is just a black blur on the screen during which a voice is heard. This is the only flaw in an otherwise smoothly made B-picture.Silver-haired gentleman CHARLES TROWBRIDGE is seen in many movies from the '30s and '40s and does a smooth job as Dr. Mason.Well worth watching.

Just got to see this rare film, which was a remake of the 1929 film directed by Tod Browning. This one has all the nice polish of an MGM film, which is an asset. What is peculiar is why the film was made at all. It is a simple b-movie, and a remake of a pretty forgotten story. The previous version was a stilted early talkie, highlighted by the appearance of Bela Lugosi as the detective (pre-Dracula). Also, strangely, Holmes Herbert repeats his supporting role from the earlier film, which is a largely insignificant part. The music score is very good, underlying and adding to the mystery mood. It is not quite as atmospheric as the earlier film, but it is still sufficient. Henry Daniell is quite good as the obsessed friend of the dead man, who ends up dead himself. The séances are handled pretty weakly. It's just a stagnant shot of the room in the dark. I actually closed my eyes to rest them while the scenes went on, and just listened. Lewis Stone is solid as the detective, coming off as a bit more pushy than usual for him. Overall, it is interesting to see an MGM film like this. They didn't really delve into horror or mystery and considering this was made in the horror ban years of 1937-8, it really stands out in their catalog. It's worth the time of any 30s mystery buffs and if you've seen a lot of poverty row ones, this is a good contrast for its' production values. 6/10