The Thirteenth Guest

Plot

Thirteen years after a dinner party where the wealthy host dropped, the thirteen guests are invited to reassemble at the dinner table. First to arrive is Ginger Rogers--who is promptly killed. It turns out that the dead woman was an impostor, hired to impersonate a real guest (Ginger Rogers again). Playboy detective Lyle Talbot is called in to investigate. It seems that the man who died 13 years ago was just about to announce the heir to his fortune, thus all the guests fall under suspicion. The culprit's true identity is hidden by a hood; the culprit's method of murder is a complex electrocution device. In an excitingly staged finale, Ginger is kidnapped by the hooded killer, but is rescued by Lyle Talbot. Made on a shoestring by Monogram Pictures, Thirteenth Guest is a marvelous "old house" mystery, with Ginger Rogers giving her all as the damsel in distress. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

Ginger Rogers' later popularity kept this low-budget comedy-thriller circulating much longer than most Monogram releases. Luckily, it was (and remains) one of the best written and acted of its kind, virtually bursting with bright dialogue and tongue-in-cheek performances. The mystery elements are standard -- down to a hooded killer, whose identity comes as a surprise to no one -- but everyone involved seems to be having a good time, and as a result, so does the audience. Even the inevitable dumb cops (J. Farrell McDonald and Paul Hurst) are truly funny this time around. The mask used to disguise the killer, incidentally, turned up again in the less well-apportioned, but still fairly good The Wayne Murder Case (1932), and Rogers, leading man Lyle Talbot, and director Albert Ray were reunited by producer M.H. Hoffman for A Shriek in the Night (1933), yet another success for the team. The Thirteenth Guest itself, meanwhile, was remade by Monogram in 1943 as The Mystery of the Thirteenth Guest, but lightning did not strike twice. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Cast

• Ginger Rogers - Marie Morgan
• Lyle Talbot - Winston
• John Farrell MacDonald - Captain Ryan
• James C. Eagles - Harold Morgan
• Eddie Phillips - Thor Jensen

Erville Alderson - Adams; Robert Klein - Barksdale; Crauford Kent - Dr. Sherwood; Frances Rich - Marjorie; Ethel Wales - Mrs Thornton; Paul Hurst - Grump; William B. Davidson - Capt. Brown; Lynton Brent - Prisoner; Al Bridge - Policeman; Adrienne Dore - Winston's Date; Kit Guard - Prisoner; John Ince - John Morgan; Tom London - Detective Carter; Ginger Rogers - Lela; Phillips Smalley - Uncle Dick Thornton; Harry Tenbrook - Cabby; Henry Hall - Sergeant; Bobby Burns - Photographer; Isabelle La Mal - Marie's Mother; Allan Cavan - Uncle Wayne Seymour; Stanley "Tiny" Sandford - Mike-Jailer

Credit

Gene Hornbostel - Art Director, Albert Ray - Director, L.R. Brown - Editor, Tom Galligan - Cinematographer, Harry Neumann - Cinematographer, M.H. Hoffman, Jr. - Producer, Arthur Hoerl - Screenwriter, Frances Hyland - Screenwriter, Armitage Trail - Book Author

Previous:	The Thirteenth Floor (1999 Film), The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther (1978 Film)
Next:	The Thirteenth Hour (1947 Film), The Thirteenth Juror (1927 Film)