A delightful, eminently watchable comedy, masterly paced, you may find it endearing, with its expert timing, and despite the gracelessness of its male cast, anyway the movie spells its genre so as not to disappoint the gullible; a playwright rented the mansion once owned by an insane physician, whose legacy of fright still carries on, and the playwright gathers there several people to stage his play, with one of the main results being that they all are really guests and none knows indeed the house. I believe that the device of 'the audience on stage', or 'the audience in the movie', as represented by the old-timer and his degenerate secretary intended to have fun no matter what, worked wonderfully; that's how exciting they felt to be the cinema, and they were right. Miljan plays the controversial playwright, June Collyer plays the starlet, while Kolker and Kirke are the usual creeps from such movies; save for the two girls (June and Eve), it's an ugly cast, one player uglier than the other, at least four mugs (the playwright, the supposed Amphytrio the psychiatrist, the heady Terry, the butler).Eve Southern was intriguing, she's the one playing the insane widow.The guards' uniform looked eerie. The patient's discourse was an early impersonation of the German Leader.Nice pace, sharp one-liners, two likable actresses, ugly male cast; as said, it's a farce, kindred to music hall, revue, etc., but the plot was neat anyway, and the experience is refreshing.Strayer directed 'The Ghost …' in '34, and 'The Monster …' in '32.

This is the usual plot where people are forced, by the weather, to stay in a rich man's house. The house has secret passages and dark corners and lights that turn off at inopportune times. The plot is basically twofold. At first, a young playwright is scripting events so he can impress a big time movie producer. Unfortunately, people begin to disappear, and one woman seemingly dies. There is wacky comedy and romance and events involving kidnapping. Some are able to keep their cool, but generally there is a frantic moving in and out of rooms. There is also the classic of the hand opening the door but not exposing its owner. Pretty ordinary in my estimation. Some of the characters are really quite charming.

Now, this movie, made in the middle of the great wave of 30s' mysteries, certainly has got ALL the 'necessary' ingredients: the isolated old house, the thunderstorm outside, psychic ongoings, turning bookshelves, eyes staring out of portraits, secret passages... But at the same time it's also one of the very first, and best, spoofs on the genre - and the scary moments are really masterfully mixed with the comic ones! It all starts (once again) with a car being stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere, with only an old mansion for the three travelers to seek shelter from the rain: a theatrical producer, his secretary, and a playwright. But the scenery changes as soon as the inhabitants of the house greet the playwright: they're old acquaintances, although not all of them seem to be on very friendly terms with him. And then a strange woman makes her appearance: dressed all in black and staring in an absent-minded way, she steps down the stairs - and scares the travelers with her strange talk about danger and murders in this very house... The host explains that she's his sister, and she's been mentally disturbed ever since her husband was murdered right there in the dining room three years ago - and as soon as they sit down to dinner, she starts talking to her invisible dead husband, a chair starts to move all by itself, the lights turn out, a frightening death mask is seen; and when the lights are on again, the mysterious woman has disappeared...But as soon as the producer and the secretary, both scared to death, have disappeared into their room, the atmosphere changes: the playwright and his friends, who turn out to be actors, are very much amused and pleased by their 'rehearsal' of his new play, which he hopes the producer will accept this way! Meanwhile, the producer finds a copy of the script in his room, and so he also thinks he knows what's going on, and decides to join in with the 'fun' - only that a short while later, the 'play' is ended suddenly when they find the actress who had impersonated the disturbed woman is found dead behind a door...From this point on, the movie keeps confusing us so much that sometimes we really don't know where the 'plot within the plot' stops and the 'real' horror begins... But the balance between mystery and comedy is being held really perfectly throughout the whole movie, so it should provide unforgettable entertainment for ALL classic movie fans with a sense of humor - a much underestimated little B movie gem that should certainly get more attention by film historians, so that a wider audience will be able to get to know and enjoy it!

A stageplay producer and his assistant are invited to an old house during a rainstorm with unexpected results.The movie's played more for laughs than for shivers. Erskine (Arthur) and Wood (Carle) are played very broadly, and in Erskine's case with a fey undercurrent. In fact the rather clever screenplay appears to be having a good time with innuendo. There are two good twists to the story, but I kept waiting for the ghost who never seemed to arrive. In fact, the little programmer is more a light-hearted mystery than anything scary. And who is Eve Sothern (Beatrice). I've never seen her before, but with her gorgeously angular features, she furnishes the movie's one riveting moment when she first appears, zombie-like. Anyway, this could have been a good little mystery-fright film had those in charge decided to drop the awkward comedic overlay.