User reviews

Unlike today, back in film's golden age, there were always roles for older character actors. Charley Grapewin - even in uncredited parts, he was easily recognisable and when he had a featured part (as the amiable granddad in "The Night of June 13th" (1931), who decides to tell the people in the street some home truths) he was very memorable. Lucien Littlefield also made a career out of character parts (Cupido the barber in "Torrent" (1926) and "The Cat and the Canary" (1927)).

In this film Grapewin has the lead role as Jasper, a crotchety head of a family, who are planning how to spend his money before he is dead. Jasper has a surprising announcement - he is going to give each of his relatives a $1 million before he dies!!! But if his granddaughter can be found, it all goes to her!!! Lucien Littlefield for once playing his right age, plays Dr. Denham.

Before the night is over, Mr. Felix (Clarence Wilson) is knocking at the door with the long lost granddaughter (Evalyn Knapp) - or is she!!!

Downstairs, trouble is brewing - everyone has a desperate need of the $1 million gift. Arthur Proctor (Arthur Hohl) has lost money in some business venture and his wife (Hedda Hopper) is worried he will do something foolish. Suddenly Doris Waverley 2 (beautiful Mary Carlisle, looking a treat) turns up, then the Great Luvalle (Wallace Ford), looking for her. Before Jasper can take Doris upstairs to have it out with her double, the first Doris is killed by fast acting poison.

A belligerent policeman (Fred Kelsey, whose most memorable role was the house detective in the "Honeymoon Hotel" sequence in "Footlight Parade") is trying to interview people. Everyone is acting pretty innocent. Tom (Regis Toomey) the black sheep of the family is romancing Doris - or is he just after her inheritance, and the Great Luvalle is determined to find the real killer!!!

It is a pretty good film - all the players have enough time to establish their characters. Rafaela Ottiano is particularly good as Elvira, the creepy maid.

Very Recommended.

As Old Dark House movies go, it's not bad. It has the intriguing plot of having a group of no goods, needing money, having it given to them by the old rich man, and then having it plucked away. A murder is committed and then all the fun starts. There are secret closets and passages. There are dumb policemen and their partners. There are suspects all over the place. There's the guy who was Dorothy's uncle in "The Wizard of Oz." We never know who to suspect. I have to admit that I felt sorry for some of the people who were going to get the money and then were aced out by a young woman, the granddaughter of the old man. I felt the housekeeper got a raw deal since she is treated pretty shabbily throughout. Even when we find out who did it, it's a little disappointing. The fun was "not" knowing. Nevertheless, there's lots of action and enough humor to make it fun. It's better than most of its ilk.

Greed is the key in Christy Cabanne's ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT, which begins with the heirs of elderly Jasper Whyte (THE WIZARD OF OZ's Charley Grapewin) assembling to learn the division of his $5,000,000 estate. Among the expectant are Jasper's wastrel nephew Tom (Regis Toomey), flighty daughter Laura (Hedda Hopper, in DRACULA'S DAUGHTER the following year), ambitious son-in-law Arthur (Arthur Hohl), family doctor Denham (Lucien Littlefield) and scornful housekeeper Elvira (Rafaela Ottiano, later of Tod Browning's THE DEVIL-DOLL). The crotchety Jasper surprises his relations by promising them all $1,000,000, barring the return of wayward granddaughter Doris Waverly before midnight-- but come the witching hour, Jasper finds he must choose between two young women claiming to be the grown up Doris, one demure and polite (Evalyn Knapp) and the other (Mary Carlisle, later in DEAD MEN WALK) sharp-tongued and accompanied by pesky variety magician The Great Luvalle (Wallace Ford, billed as Wally). When one of the Dorises turns up dead by poison, local sheriff Jenks (Fred Kelsey) and deputy Abner (Adrian Morris, brother of Chester), have their hands full trying to keep the survivors from either killing one another or falling victim to a masked fiend dealing death through the business end of an Amazon blow gun.

Former D. W. Griffith protégé Cabanne kicks off this Mascot Pictures quickie with a credit sequence promising a fun sixty minutes plus: as lightning flashes and rain pelts a miniature mockup of an old dark house, the shutters burst open to reveal titles written on window shades drawn down by a bare, pallid arm. After the introduction of the cast via a series of cute vignettes, the camera (cinematography is credited to both Ernest Miller, who later shot Sam Fuller's THE STEEL HELMET, and William Nobles) pushes in through the drawing room windows, upsetting the drapes and telegraphing the dark and stormy atmosphere that will prove `a swell night for a murder.' The script by Wellyn Totman (from a story by mystery writer Stuart Palmer) thwarts expectations by allowing the crusty Jasper Whyte to survive beyond the anticipated expiration date of a cinematic septuagenarian with his fingers curled around a multi-million dollar fortune. Although Wallace Ford steals the show (`Stick around this morgue long enough and they'll be saying goodbye to you with flowers!'), Mary Carlisle proves his equal in doling out the jibes (`I've played tougher houses than this!')-- it's a pity that Totman's script requires her to manifest more romantic interest in Regis Toomey than Ford (who would appear for Cabanne again as the magic-obsessed Babe Hansen of THE MUMMY'S HAND).

Intriguing, better-than-average old house thriller where a cantankerous old millionaire decides to give his money to his heirs whilst still alive - providing of course his lost granddaughter from a runaway daughter continues NOT to be found. But on this one frightening night - a granddaughter arrives as does mischief, mayhem, and murder. One Frightened Night, made for Mascot Pictures, is cheaply made and has no major stars; however, it does more with what it does have than in some A List movies of the same period. The opening with the title names put on shades drawn throughout the opening title sequence had me at once, and then actor Charley Grapewin, Uncle Henry from The Wizard of Oz and Inspector Queen from the Ellery Queen movie series, comes on and chews up so much scenery with his cantankerous old codger bit that you end up loving his character from the first moment you see him. Obviously the similarities with this film and The Cat and the Canary are going to be made - and with good reason as both have much in common: a similar story with similar plot twists, a cast of greedy relatives/friends, secret passageways and burning candles, an austere, humorless old maiden of a maid, light comedy amidst the backdrop of murder, and much more. This film is certainly not as polished as that one but a great deal of fun nonetheless. I love the dialog in this film - particularly that of Grapewin but also of Wallace Ford as the "Great Luvalle" and Fred Kelsey as Sheriff Jenks. In one scene Grapewin learns that one of his annoying, greedy relatives, a somewhat hysterical woman won't talk at all anymore and someone says something to that effect. Grapewin looks on dubiously and says something to the effect that she was a remarkable woman for not speaking at all and keeping silent. Such humor is pervasive throughout. One Frightened Night is just good, old-fashioned fun. Period.

This has a terrific opening with the credits played onto a window and it's shade during a storm. Those mugshots of the actors being introduced to us are good and a little creepy in some cases.

Jasper Whyte invites his relatives to his house. He wants to spread his wealth among them before the new inheritance comes into force at midnight. His plans go awry when his long lost granddaughter turns up to change his mind. Then another complication results in a murder which occurs just before the half-hour mark.

Charley Grapewin is very good as the old buzzard Jasper. He played Ellery Queen's father in the detective series from 1940 to 1942. Jasper is definitely the pick of the characters for me. He describes his family as a hungry pack of wolves as he takes delight in taking back the million dollars each he has just given them when his plans are about to be changed.

The comedy isn't overplayed and doesn't interfere with the mystery aspect of the story too much. The action includes a faked identity and poisoned coffee and a locked room murder. There are some good moments which almost tempts me to take it to the next level of rating. But it just falls short of the country house thriller classics of the period.

Jasper Whyte calls all of his associates and friends (few in number) to his house (on a night with plenty of rain, thunder, and lightning) to give away all of his estate before an inheritance tax would lessen the amount. One million dollars is to be given to relative Tom Dean, maid Elvira, Dr. Denham, lawyer Felix, and another relative, Laura Proctor (and her husband Arthur). When Felix arrives at the mansion, he brings a woman who claims to be Doris Waverly, Whyte's long lost granddaughter. Seeing his only true heir, Whyte decides to give all of his money to her, which obviously ticks off all the others. Things however become more complicated when another woman comes to the mansion claiming to be Doris Waverly (arriving with her vaudeville partner, the Great Lavelle- a magician). Whyte asks the two woman to confront each other, but the first Doris is found murdered in her room. Whyte and Dean send for the police in order to find out who the first woman was and who had her killed, and Doris (the second and real one) must be able to survive until midnight when she gets her inheritance. Very good "Old Dark House" type mystery, with a lot of similarities to The Cat and the Canary, with the young woman inheriting everything while all other members are shut out. Grapewin (as Whyte) and Ford (as Lavelle) play their roles to the hilt which helps the movie and the rest of the cast give adequate performances. Cabanne's direction and the rest of the production crew are able to maintain the mystery and suspense quite well, but its nothing to go ape over. Rating, 7.

"An aging eccentric millionaire gathers his heirs and informs them that he intends to give his fortune to his granddaughter, if she appears before midnight, otherwise the five of them will split the estate. Two women arrive claiming to be the long-lost granddaughter, which upsets all of the other relatives. When one of the women ends up dead, suspicion falls upon everyone who potentially would benefit form the elimination of the other heirs," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

For the umpteenth time, a group of interconnecting people gather at a spooky mansion, hope to collect a fortune, and become murder victims (or suspects) - it's a very familiar plot. But, "One Frightened Night" manages to always seem cleverer than it is. Director Christy Cabanne, who was often hired to keep thing moving, does just that, while managing to throw in some of the flair he more often neglected. It's nice to see an older actor, Charley Grapewin (as Jasper Wythe), taking the lead; and, the rest of the cast circumvents him well.

***** One Frightened Night (1935) Christy Cabanne ~ Charley Grapewin, Mary Carlisle, Wallace Ford

Odd title for a fairly conventional murder mystery of the 'Old Dark House' genre, in mid-Depression days when a few bow-ties and gleaming shirt-fronts would bring an hour of welcome escapism to large numbers.

A new inheritance tax is due to come into force at midnight, and an ageing multi-millionaire wants to donate his fortune to his long-lost granddaughter before Uncle Sam gets it - if he can find her, that is. Otherwise it will be divided among five other family-members.

As the clock starts ticking, on a dark and stormy night (natch!), the five lucky winners are assembled in the mansion, when a glamorous blonde, the right age, mysteriously manages to arrive, to a warm welcome from the old man, followed suddenly by a rival candidate, before the first one dies of poison.

Show me one of these Agatha Christie situations, and I will show you a detective saying "The person who killed her is in this room". Among other suspects, you will catch Hedda Hopper in one of the last of those cocktail-guest supporting roles that were her bread-and-butter for so long, before she suddenly found fame as a Hollywood gossip-columnist. Also comic relief in the form of a magician who keeps pulling odd things out of people's pockets (including revolvers). And of course, the regulation housemaid discreetly listening at doors.

The story begins with a rich guy (Charley Grapewin) announcing to several relatives that because no one has been able to locate his granddaughter, he's splitting his fortune up among them. Then, as if my queue, a man arrives with what he claims is the missing granddaughter. And, a bit later, another one arrives as well! Obviously at least one of them is fake and soon one of them is murdered.

During the 1930s, there were a ton of movies pretty much like "One Frightened Night". You know, films where some folks are all stuck in a house and a murderer is running amok and the cops are complete boobs so it takes a smartie pants non-cop to solve the whole thing. Well, because it's so familiar, I found my brain going on vacation periodically during the film and paying attention and even caring about the characters was a chore.

The best thing about this film are the brilliantly made opening credits. Thereafter, however, it's all downhill and the film is predictable and overly familiar. A time-passer and nothing more.

And featuring the likeable clown from Freaks. What more could one ask? A low-budget Old Dark House mystery that is better than it needs to be, with sharp dialogue and engaging characters...can't go wrong!

Why can't all B pictures be this good?

Multi-millionaire Charley Grapewin is having some friends and relations over to dinner and says that he's going to give them all an advance inheritance, a nice million dollar check for all. His beloved granddaughter there's been no word of.

Well wouldn't you know it, not only does she show up, but there are two women claiming to be her. That cancels the inheritance, but girl number one Evelyn Knapp is killed in a rather exotic way. Girl number 2 Mary Carlisle is still in the running, but so are such friends and relations as Regis Toomey, Lucien Littlefield, Hedda Hopper and a few more familiar faces.

Mascot Pictures shot this one on petty cash. But a lot of good character players get to do their shtick in this rather interesting satire on murder mystery film.

One Frightened Night is night is an interesting B film that might be worth a viewing.

John Stanley's Creature Feature Film Guide calls this film "dusty fun" and I have to agree wholeheartedly. The formula and gags are quite dated but still retain a charm that lends so much to the enjoyment. I don't think I've met anyone who has a negative opinion of this film. I first saw it back in the early 80's on PBS's Matinée at the Bijou. It was cut pretty severely, about 10 or 15 minutes, to fit the time schedule, but lost nothing of it's story or characterizations. I loved it from the start. What a blessing to find it intact from Creepy Classics back in 95, and now from Alpha on DVD. A great cast of character actors ranging from "Dorothy's uncle" to "that crabby guy who ran the orphanage in the little Rascals.....now Spanky be reasonable!" A movie like this can't be made these days, and I imagine a great deal of the population would pass this right by were any station to show it. This is a real forgotten gem that should be watched if the occasion arises. BTW I don't think Hedda Hopper is Jasper's daughter. She always refers to him by his name and doesn't call him father. Also, at one point she says of Jasper's "daughter" "she doesn't look much like her mother does she?" I believe she may be a cousin or perhaps his sister.

ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT (Mascot Pictures, 1935), directed by Christy Cabanne, is a poverty row mystery film from an original story by Stuart Palmer, author of the crime solving heroine creation of those "Hildergard Withers" mysteries. Reminiscent to similar story ideas that developed into THE CAT AND THE CANARY (Universal, 1927) and THE THIRTEENTH GUEST (Monogram, 1932), involving the reading of the will to surviving relatives during a thunderous after midnight rainstorm followed by mysterious murder(s), ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT, being its very own participation to this genre of horrors and comedy, is quite a satisfactory effort, even for a low-budget project. Featuring Charley Grapewin in a very rare leading role, offers an interesting insight to his character as "an old grouch," considering how hard it is to forget his lovable character of Uncle Henry from the now legendary 1939 classic of THE WIZARD OF OZ (MGM) starring Judy Garland.

Starting with the opening credits superimposing the visual of an old house at night during a thunderstorm where the actors are physically introduced from behind open shutters, the story gets underway where somebody starts off by saying, "What a swell night for a murder." Inside the mansion is old Jasper White (Charley Grapewin) hosting a late evening dinner for friends and relatives, consisting of Arthur and Laura Proctor (Arthur Hohl and Hedda Hopper), Tom Dean (Regis Toomey) and Doctor Denham (Lucien Littlefield), before the reading of his will. Jasper reveals that, to beat the new state inheritance tax effective at midnight, he's going to give them each a million dollars. They each get to have their individual share provided that Jasper's long lost granddaughter, Doris Waverly, is not found. Moments later, Doris Waverly (Evalyn Knapp), who has answered an ad placed in the newspaper by Felix (Clarence Wilson), Jasper's attorney, arrives, depriving the others from getting the money they have hoped to receive. With the intent to right the wrong he did to his daughter for marrying an actor, Jasper, having acquainted himself with his granddaughter, intends on giving her his entire fortune. Then another woman (Mary Carlisle) arrives with her vaudeville partner and magician, Joe Luvalle (Wallace Ford), addressed as The Great Luvalle, claiming to be the real Doris Waverly. After meeting with Jasper and insisting on meeting the impostor, they find the bedroom door locked. Forcing the door open, the body of the first Doris is found dead after reportedly drinking poison. Ruled a suicide by Sheriff Jenks (Fred Kelsey) and Deputy Sheriff Fabier (Adrian Morris), Jasper strongly believes the first Doris was murdered, and that the actual killer is one of them. Also taking part of the mystery is Elvira (Rafaela Ottiano) Jasper's creepy housekeeper.

Following the pattern of THE CAT AND THE CANARY or some other old dark house mysteries, during its brisk 65 minutes set completely inside the mansion where the guests spend a single night, in fact, one frightened night involving some sinister individual in cloak with devilish mask and hat roaming about, throwing knives and using a poison dart blow gun at his victims. To add to the suspense other than shadows on the wall are some weird oddities inside a room consisting of a tomb exposing a mummy and unusual looking wax figures. Unlike some other low-budget mysteries of this sort from other poverty row productions as Monogram or Chesterfield, this Mascot product consists of stock music to enhance the mood and favor. Scores are familiar for anyone having seen such films as THE VAMPIRE BAT (Majestic, 1933) or A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT (Allied, 1933) where they have been lifted. Wallace Ford, billed as Wally Ford, as Luvalle, better known as "The Great Luvalle," is there for amusement purposes, even as a magician unable to release himself from handcuffs in one scene. Character performers as the sinister looking Arthur Hohl and Clarence Wilson are always a welcome advantage to the story to move it along. And of course the pretty face of Mary Carlisle and future Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper in worthy supporting roles.

Very rarely shown since its earliest days of broadcast television dating back to the 1950s or so, ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT surfaced after many years in the 1980s in the wake of both cable television and home video. It also played part of a 45-minute featurette on public television's weekly series of "Matinee at the Bijou" starting at around 1983. Later available onto DVD, and being public domain title, ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT is another worthy discovery from the movie vaults as part of any fright night/old-style movie entertainment for its time. (**1/2)

Regis Toomey forces shut a blown-open window. "Swell night for a murder," he laughs—it's the film's opening line. He returns to the dinner table and his fellow guests. Outside the rain and thunder and lightning continue.

Rich old eccentric Charley Grapewin has invited a small handful of relatives and close associates to his lonely mansion for the night. He doesn't exactly love them all, but he needs to divide up his fortune and has decided to give them one million dollars each—insisting, all the while, that if only his granddaughter Doris could be found, she would receive the entire fortune herself.

And what do you know? Soon a granddaughter shows up, complete with old family letters written by her long lost mother. Nonplussed by this development, the rest of the guests stick around for the night. The plot really takes off when—

Another young woman shows up claiming to be the same granddaughter. Can a murder be far off?

Charley Grapewin is the center of the action as the old man; his health is supposed to be bad but he's awfully feisty. Toomey is fine as the irreverent young man with a ready wit and plenty of nerve. The rest of the cast is colorful as well—Hedda Hopper is a greedy relative, Lucien Littlefield a shady doctor. Wallace Ford is fun as Luvalle: "a magician, a prestidigitator, now you see it, now you don't!" Rafaella Ottiano is not a familiar name to me, but her face is certainly familiar—she plays Elvira, the housekeeper with a dark look and an ear to every keyhole.

The two Dorises are both good. Evalyn Knapp as the first is sweet, polite and refined, sooo charming to the old man…a little too charming? Mary Carlisle as Doris number two is a stage actress and a fast talker—a complete contrast.

All of the characters gather together for a great moment right at the midpoint: Grapewin announces his conclusion that "it wasn't suicide, it was murder. And the person who killed her…is in this room!"—at which the camera pans slowly from one face to the next, all around the room. It sounds so clichéd, but boy, is it fun.

This is a good one—short and sweet, cute and unpretentious.

Funny moment: "The Great Luvalle…bah!"

This movie is almost two different films in one. The first half sets up the plot, and is a bit stiff. Something curious happens in the opening dinner scene. There's a lightning strike, and the lights go out. Then they go back on. Then in the next shot, they're out again. And then on. it's never clear what's going on with the lights, but they come back on for the rest of the movie. Odd.

The movie is about a rich, crotchety old man and the dispersal of his fortune. Once the premise is set up and the murder occurs, a bumbling detective (Fred Kelsey, from multiple Three Stooges shorts) shows up and the film gradually shifts into an old house/mystery/comedy, with strange, masked figures chased through the house, screaming women and dramatic music. The change certainly wakes up the film, and is quite entertaining.

If you like this genre and you stick with it, the movie pays off pretty good. It's not great cinema, but worth watching after the lights go out.

A wealthy old man announces to those close to him that they will share his fortune. When his long lost granddaughter arrives he decides to leave everything to her. Another girl turns up claiming to be the same granddaughter. One is murdered.

Average comedy thriller with little in the way of comedy. The opening credits show promise but the rest of the film falls short. Charley Grapewin stars as the old man with support from Regis Toomey. Give this a miss and just watch The Cat And The Canary instead.

Produced by Mascot Pictures, a precursor to Republic, this is the story of Jasper Whyte (Charley Grapewin). In ill health, he tells people he's giving them his money before he croaks, so the gov'ment doesn't get it. Then... it starts to thunder and lightning.... it was a dark and stormy night. The grand- daughter who didn't get any money shows up, and things start to happen. Co-stars Regis Toomey and Hedda Hopper. Hopper had been around in the silents for YEARS, but of course would be known as the gossip columnist after her acting days. and Rafaela Ottiano is "Elvira", the creepy maid. she always had goofy, creepy roles. like the over-protective Suzette in "Grand Hotel". Directed by W. Christy Cabanne, who had begun as an actor in the VERY EARLY days of silent films... then went on to direct TONS of silents and Talkies. According to wikipedia, Cabanne directed Shirley Temple in her first credited role. One Frightened Night is pretty good... sound and picture quality are pretty shakey, but it probably needs restoration. A shortie, at 66 minutes. But they pack a lot in that time. They DO show various magic show bits, to liven things up a little. mixed in with playing some pranks on the sheriff. gets pretty wacky at the end. Currently showing on Moonlight Movie Channel.

For fans of 1930's Poverty Row, the very presence of a storm-battered mansion elicits a pleasant feeling, and makes otherwise unforgivable flaws within the film bearable. I've never seen an "Old Dark House" movie I didn't like, but some are definitely better than others. Case in point: "One Frightened Night."

Starting with an ingenious credit sequence, the movie consistently offers an awareness of its own cliches. This refreshingly tounge-in-cheek-attitude - along with top-notch acting and pacing - make it a superior product. Everything seems to click. I recommend this as an intro to Old Dark House movies. 10/10.

While One Frightened Night is definitely not the kind of movie that you would call a classic or the kind that introduced new ideas or added new twists to the murder mystery genre, still it is a perfect little B movie in its own simple way.

Really, there is nothing new here: we have the usual set of characters (the cute blonde, the dumb police guy, the grumpy but wise old man, the maid and a clumsy magician as comic-relief), the usual settings (old dark house, complete with hidden corridors) and a somewhat loose plot concerning the old guy's fortune that he plans to give away either to his relatives and employees OR to his long lost daughter. But still, everything works so fine, the characters are played out so well, the dialogues are excellently written and the film moves at such a fast pace that you will just have to sit back an enjoy the fun.

The amusing title sequence already sets the mood for the spooky, but fun atmosphere and the story kicks into high gear when the aforementioned daughter shows up... and not one, but two of them! And from that moment it just does not let down, we have great plot twists, witty dialogue, lots of action and even a masked killer, hiding in the shadows. If you like murder mysteries OR old dark house movies OR comedies OR just the typical, well made '30s B-movies then you simply can not go wrong with this little gem.

Wonderful cast in the extreme, very good directing, fine soundtrack, exceptionally well done photography, well scripted, with some nice plot twists and turns. Again ... Classic all the way. Best part? The cast. Worst part? The continuity could have used some tweaking here and there. I mean, when you dash in out of a rain storm, well, you ought to be wet. Down side? None. Difficult to figure out? Well, not really. You can pretty much do that ten minutes into the movie. At least I did. But there are twists enough to keep you doubting. It takes both thought and perseverance. Keep track of who is where and who does what. The fun comes in when you realize that certain characters obviously find it, they think, as clear cut as you do. That is ... IF you do. And if you do ... Then you get to set back, relax and watch the cops try to figure it out while essentially being lead around by the hand by those ( like you ) who know. If you don't? Hey, hang in there. How close is it to being a real 10? If the girl's coat had been wet when she came in out of the rain? I'd have given it a 10. And thats just about as close it gets.