This is How Movies Should Be Made

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Quite surprisingly, an awful film. I've liked a lot of director Tod Browning's films, both before and after this effort (He Who Gets Slapped (1924), The Unknown (1927), Where East is East (1929), Freaks (1932), and The Devil-Doll (1936)), but this one is uncharacteristically dry as toast. One common factor from another film of his that I didn't care for as much as others (Dracula (1931)) is Bela Lugosi, who I find wooden and awkward, but he doesn't account for all of the film's problems. Everyone is wooden and awkward. It's is a shame, because also in the cast is Margaret Wycherly, who was so great in White Heat twenty years later, and Leila Hyams, a lesser-known actor who I've liked seeing in supporting roles in other films from this era.The sins of the film are many. The direction and editing is so poor it's hard to fathom from Browning, though I read later that some of his issues stemmed not only from sound being a new and limiting technology, but that sound director Douglas Shearer (brother of Norma) was part of the problem. I'm not sure if that's true or false, but regardless, the end product is awful, visually and sound-wise. It doesn't help that the quality of the surviving print has degraded, often making it hard to understand the dialogue. I can't recall a single scene or moment that I thought was truly good; almost all of the action takes place in a single room, and it's worse than stagey. There is never a 'wow' or macabre moment, or even an interesting turn of the plot. What could have been an interesting story along the line of an Agatha Christie mystery, with all of the potential culprits in the room with the detective sifting through the facts, becomes an exercise in tedium, moving at a snail's pace. I advise avoiding this one like the plague.

Some films are known more for the trivia associated with them than their actual content - The Thirteenth Chair (1929) being one of them. As the first sound film for director Tod Browning and his first collaboration with the Hungarian emigre actor Bela Lugosi it is these points of interest in a film a few years before Dracula (1931) that draw most attention.Browning seems very restricted by the early sound recording systems and this very theatrical film plays out mostly on a single set in prolonged wide shots. The opening scene as a mysterious figure enters a building and almost steps on a pool of blood left by a murder victim is handled with some style but is one of the few visual treats in a very static film. Lugosi is very engaged in his part, talking much faster and with greater passion than his lugubrious Dracula performance, indicating the latter was very much an interpretation of his original stage part. His dramatic confrontation with the suspects is full of passion and a certain intensity. Of the remaining cast John Davidson as Edward Wales is the sole standout, bringing a creepy intensity and mystery to his role, which is portrayed as one of mystery.Existing prints of this film are fairly washed out and damaged which reduces the ability of the modern viewer to identify clearly what is going on. A full restoration might be of benefit if quality elements exist but this is far from being the forgotten masterpiece of early sound horror that a viewer might have hoped for.

Released in 1929, "The Thirteenth Chair" is the filmed version of a rather popular play of the same name. Today, it is a hopelessly dated movie that creaks along at a snails pace and is truly an endurance test to sit through despite its 72 minute run time. The only memorable aspect is the first appearance of Bela Lugosi in a leading role, demolishing scenery as only the future Dracula can. Whether mangling the English language or speaking lines with . . . .his . . . trademark . . . pauses . . . Mr. Lugosi commands ones attention. Set in Calcutta, India for some reason, the story is a murder mystery wherein a man is slain in the middle of a seance. Lugosi is called in to solve the case and, after much cajoling and bullying, manages to do so with the aid of the medium. The film itself is tough to watch mainly due to the poor acting and static nature of this early talkie film. It could benefit significantly from tighter editing as certain shots seem to drag on for at least 5 seconds too long. Conrad Nagel is the top-billed star but I'm not sure what character he played (It was Richard, the fiancée). He has absolutely nothing to do except console the prime suspect, Helen, portrayed by Leila Hyams. As the phony medium, Margaret Wycherly gets kudos from reviewers for her contribution but to me she'll always be Ma Jarrett from "White Heat." The rest of the cast is unmemorable, to be kind. Which brings us to Lugosi. He is easily the most memorable character in the film and performs all the Lugosi shtick (glaring, clutching, deliberate . . . line . . . readings . . . etc.) that he has become famous (or infamous) for. For some reason director Tod Browning constructed a lot of his shots with the back of Lugosi's head visible to viewers (maybe he had a fetish for Bela's neckline or it was a joke a la John Ford photographing Ward Bond's posterior whenever possible). Despite being billed seventh he is the closest thing to a male lead in the film and he dominates the scenes he is in. Without him the film would be impossible to sit through. As an early example of a talking film, "The Thirteenth Chair" pretty much sums up the brief period before directors figured out how to take a play and make it cinematic instead of simply filming a stage drama. It is certainly a treat to see Bela Lugosi in a normal leading role before his entire life would be cast under the spell of Dracula.

Early talkie feature based on a popular stage play. A murder has been committed and a bunch of people hire a medium to conduct a séance to see who the murderer is. While the lights are out there's ANOTHER murder...so it's someone in that room.What follows is an obvious, dull and creaky murder mystery. Most of the cast overacts to a ridiculous degree. They act like they're on stage (where you have to overdo things) and it looks silly on screen. Most embarrassing is Bela Lugosi (two years before "Dracula") who REALLY overdoes it as a police inspector. Static direction by Tod Browning (who was always overrated) doesn't help.For Browning and Lugosi completists only. I give it a 3.