By Richard Harland Smith
Before Dawn
Brief Synopsis
Detectives compete to solve the murders at a mysterious mansion.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Irving Pichel
Director
Stuart Erwin
Dwight Wilson
Dorothy Wilson
Patricia Merrick, also known as Mlle. Mystera
Warner Oland
Dr. Paul Cornelius
Dudley Digges
Horace Merrick
Gertrude W. Hoffman
Mattie
Film Details
Also Known As
Death Watch
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Classic Hollywood
Release Date
Aug
4,
1933
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Death Watch" by Edgar Wallace in Chicago Daily Tribune (22 Aug-10 Sep 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
60m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
Before dying in a Vienna hospital, fugitive Joe Valerie reveals to Dr. Paul Cornelius, a psychopathologist, the location of his stolen $1,000,000 fortune, which he had hidden years before in a house owned by a Mrs. Marble. When news of Valerie's death reaches America, old Mrs. Marble tells her housekeeper, Mattie, that she is now free to unearth the gangster's fortune. On her way to the money, however, she sees a terrifying vision of Valerie's face, which causes her to take a fatal fall down her stairs. Meanwhile, in the city, investigator Dwight Wilson arrests clairvoyant Patricia "Mlle. Mystera" Merrick during an undercover police sweep of suspected charlatans. Desperate to stay out of prison, Patricia's father Horace convinces Dwight and his superior, Chief John F. O'Hara, that Patricia has legitimate psychic abilities and is willing to aid them in any investigation. After Patricia successfully "sees" the death of Mrs. Marble, Dwight takes Horace and her to the old woman's house. While questioning Mattie, Patricia foresees the arrival of Cornelius, who pretends to be interested only in the case, not the money. Later that night, however, after Cornelius again terrorizes Mattie in the guise of Valerie's spirit, Horace overhears Cornelius drilling the housekeeper for information concerning a secret room. Cornelius tracks Horace to the room and kills him, then is lead by Mattie to a secret cellar where she says the money is hidden. After Cornelius throws Mattie down a deep well in the cellar, he is confronted by Patricia and later by Dwight and the police. Dwight fights desperately with Cornelius, who finally falls to his own death in the well. Awarded Valerie's fortune, Dwight proposes to Patricia.
Director
Irving Pichel
Director
Cast
Stuart Erwin
Dwight Wilson
Dorothy Wilson
Patricia Merrick, also known as Mlle. Mystera
Warner Oland
Dr. Paul Cornelius
Dudley Digges
Horace Merrick
Gertrude W. Hoffman
Mattie
Oscar Apfel
Chief John F. O'Hara
Frank Reicher
Joe Valerie
Jane Darwell
Mrs. Marble
Crew
Lucien Andriot
Photography
Joe Biroc
2nd Camera
Ralph Block
Screenwriter
Charley Bohny
Assistant Camera
Shirley Burden
Associate Producer
Carroll Clark
Settings
Merian C. Cooper
Executive Producer
Marion Dix
Screenwriter
Philip J. Faulkner Jr.
Recording
Garrett Fort
Screenwriter
William Hamilton
Editing
Walter Mayo
Assistant Director
Van Nest Polglase
Settings
Max Steiner
Music Director
Film Details
Also Known As
Death Watch
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Classic Hollywood
Release Date
Aug
4,
1933
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the short story "Death Watch" by Edgar Wallace in Chicago Daily Tribune (22 Aug-10 Sep 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
60m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
Before Dawn
The selection of Warner Oland as the star of 20th Century Fox's "Charlie Chan" film series elevated the actor out of the rut of playing villains, as he had done during the silent and early sound era. (Oland had already played Sax Rohmer's "insidious" arch-criminal Dr. Fu Manchu three times and went head to head with leatherneck Lon Chaney as a Chinese bandit leader in Tell It To the Marines [1926].) A stage-trained actor with a subspecialty in Shakespeare, Oland brought charisma and surprising pathos to writer Earl der Biggers' brilliantly analytical but endlessly deferential Honolulu copper Charlie Chan, though he still enjoyed the occasional walk on the dark side. He was poisoner "Boris Karlov," bent on taking down a Russian dynasty, in Drums of Jeopardy (1931), a lycanthrope terrorizing Soho in Werewolf of London (1936), and a shady psychopathologist with more than a clinical interest in a cache of hidden loot in Before Dawn (1933). Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, Before Dawn was released in the wake of the studio's success with King Kong (1933) and benefitted as well from source material penned by British mystery writer Edgar Wallace. Tapped by producer Merian C. Cooper to direct this old dark house thriller was Irving Pichel, co-director of The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and a busy Hollywood character actor in his own right. Screenwriter Garrett Fort was at this point fresh from his success as a contributor to the scripts for Universal's Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Before Dawn
The selection of Warner Oland as the star of 20th Century Fox's "Charlie Chan" film series elevated the actor out of the rut of playing villains, as he had done during the silent and early sound era. (Oland had already played Sax Rohmer's "insidious" arch-criminal Dr. Fu Manchu three times and went head to head with leatherneck Lon Chaney as a Chinese bandit leader in Tell It To the Marines [1926].) A stage-trained actor with a subspecialty in Shakespeare, Oland brought charisma and surprising pathos to writer Earl der Biggers' brilliantly analytical but endlessly deferential Honolulu copper Charlie Chan, though he still enjoyed the occasional walk on the dark side. He was poisoner "Boris Karlov," bent on taking down a Russian dynasty, in Drums of Jeopardy (1931), a lycanthrope terrorizing Soho in Werewolf of London (1936), and a shady psychopathologist with more than a clinical interest in a cache of hidden loot in Before Dawn (1933). Produced by RKO Radio Pictures, Before Dawn was released in the wake of the studio's success with King Kong (1933) and benefitted as well from source material penned by British mystery writer Edgar Wallace. Tapped by producer Merian C. Cooper to direct this old dark house thriller was Irving Pichel, co-director of The Most Dangerous Game (1932) and a busy Hollywood character actor in his own right. Screenwriter Garrett Fort was at this point fresh from his success as a contributor to the scripts for Universal's Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Death Watch. According to a June 1933 Hollywood Reporter news item, RKO held a contest for a new title, the prize of which was fifty dollars. RKO borrowed Stuart Erwin from M-G-M for this production. May 1933 Film Daily and Hollywood Reporter news items announced that Ginger Rogers and Betty Furness had been signed for roles, but neither actress appeared in the film. In a June 1933 Hollywood Reporter news item, Otto Brower was announced as director. According to Hollywood Reporter news items, Gregory Ratoff, Pat O'Malley, Hobart Cavanaugh, Lal Chand Mehra and Tom Brower were assigned to the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
