What has been the most overused plot line in motion pictures? The most obvious one to me is the spooky old mansion where some aging relative, hated by everyone in their family, gathers everybody together, and all of a sudden kicks the bucket in a way that is most obviously murder. There's all sorts of greedy relatives abound, spooky servants, a fragile heroine being stalked by the killer, and of course, the wise-cracking reporter and stupid police officers investigating the case.
The victim here is the very nasty William V. Mong who detests every one of his relatives and has obviously mistreated his staff, which includes a creepy looking secretary nephew (Dwight Frye). Mong, who has left his will unsigned, calls the police to his mansion to arrest a relative he believes has gotten into his safe, read his will and switched a valuable diamond he keeps there. Just as he is in the midst of telling off the greedy family and servants, he keels over and is discovered to be dead with a knife stuck into his heart. It's ironic that the dumb as nails detective Regis Toomey is there, reciting the most stereotypical of dumb dialog.
As for the servants, there's of course a very dour housekeeper, in this case played by silent film veteran Lucille La Verne who would make screen history by allowing her profile to be used for the old hag in Disney's "Snow White" and providing her voice for both the hag and the glamorous version of the character. She is also known for her toothless hags in the silent "Orphans of the Storm" and the 1935 version of "A Tale of Two Cities", but here, she's got her teeth in, overacting with her few lines of dialog and being totally over the top. Poor Snowflake is given the most embarrassing assignment as the black manservant, a total coward who shakes in fear every time something spooky happens. A cloaked mysterious character looks more like the hooded Elephant Man than a scary creature and waves their cloaked arms around, causing Snowflake to go into hysterics in one of the most racist of intended comic moments that just ends up head shaking.
The only interesting lines go to June Clyde as a wise-cracking reporter nicknamed "Nosy" by Toomey who is simply just dreadful in this part. The film moves at a snail's pace for its extremely short running time, only coming to life when Clyde is on screen or in a rooftop chase in the finale. I've seen so many variations of this plot line that were better told, even in much later spoofs like "Murder By Death" and "Clue".
The victim here is the very nasty William V. Mong who detests every one of his relatives and has obviously mistreated his staff, which includes a creepy looking secretary nephew (Dwight Frye). Mong, who has left his will unsigned, calls the police to his mansion to arrest a relative he believes has gotten into his safe, read his will and switched a valuable diamond he keeps there. Just as he is in the midst of telling off the greedy family and servants, he keels over and is discovered to be dead with a knife stuck into his heart. It's ironic that the dumb as nails detective Regis Toomey is there, reciting the most stereotypical of dumb dialog.
As for the servants, there's of course a very dour housekeeper, in this case played by silent film veteran Lucille La Verne who would make screen history by allowing her profile to be used for the old hag in Disney's "Snow White" and providing her voice for both the hag and the glamorous version of the character. She is also known for her toothless hags in the silent "Orphans of the Storm" and the 1935 version of "A Tale of Two Cities", but here, she's got her teeth in, overacting with her few lines of dialog and being totally over the top. Poor Snowflake is given the most embarrassing assignment as the black manservant, a total coward who shakes in fear every time something spooky happens. A cloaked mysterious character looks more like the hooded Elephant Man than a scary creature and waves their cloaked arms around, causing Snowflake to go into hysterics in one of the most racist of intended comic moments that just ends up head shaking.
The only interesting lines go to June Clyde as a wise-cracking reporter nicknamed "Nosy" by Toomey who is simply just dreadful in this part. The film moves at a snail's pace for its extremely short running time, only coming to life when Clyde is on screen or in a rooftop chase in the finale. I've seen so many variations of this plot line that were better told, even in much later spoofs like "Murder By Death" and "Clue".