Mystery House
Brief Synopsis
A detective tries to solve a murder in a house full of suspects.
Cast & Crew
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Noel Smith
Director
Dick Purcell
Lance O'Leary
Ann Sheridan
Sarah Keate
Anne Nagel
Gwen Kingery
William Hopper
Lal Killian
Anthony Averill
Julian Barre
Film Details
Also Known As
The Mystery of Hunting's End
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Release Date
May
21,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon G. Eberhart (New York, 1930).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
After a dinner party, Herbert Kingery accuses one of his guests of defrauding his company. He adds that he will give the criminal until the next morning to confess. That evening, the family dog howls, causing Kingery to open the door of his office to investigate. When Kingery bolts the door, a gun goes off and he is killed. The death is ruled a suicide, but his daughter Gwen is determined to prove he didn't kill himself. Nurse Sarah Keate, who is taking care of Gwen's aunt Lucy, recommends private detective Lance O'Leary. Gwen invites everyone who was present the evening of her father's death to spend a weekend in the country. Shortly after the guests leave for an afternoon of hunting, Helen Page dies in what seems to be another suicide. Helen's husband Joe had recently asked for a divorce to marry another woman. Lance investigates and learns that Helen was strangled and was shot after her death to make it look like suicide. Gwen then visits Gerald Frawley in his room. After she leaves, Gerald removes his toupee and is shot just as Kingery was. Sarah finds a letter Gerald wrote to Gwen, stating that the "key" is in his toupee. Lance believes Lucy Kingery, who is confined to a wheelchair, can actually walk. He tricks her into revealing this and learns that she stole Gerald's toupee, which has the combination of his safe written inside it. As soon as Lance and Lucy leave the room, the family chauffeur rushes in and copies the combination. After ruling out the chauffeur, Lance catches him in the act of opening the safe. The chauffeur confesses that six years earlier he had stolen some money from Kingery's office. Kingery had him sign a confession to ensure that he would stay straight and he wanted to remove it before anyone saw it. Lance discovers that a gun on the wall, hung as a decoration, has been rigged to fire if the office door is bolted. Deciding to trick the murderer, Lance invites everyone into the office. When he asks Julian Barre to bolt the door, Barre punches Lance and escapes but is stopped by the dog. Lance explains that he found a paper in Kingery's safe accusing Barre of forging some securities. Barre spent the money on Helen, who found out about the forgery from Gerald. Therefore, Barre killed both Kingery and Helen as well as Gerald to keep his crimes a secret.
Director
Noel Smith
Director
Cast
Dick Purcell
Lance O'Leary
Ann Sheridan
Sarah Keate
Anne Nagel
Gwen Kingery
William Hopper
Lal Killian
Anthony Averill
Julian Barre
Dennie Morre
Annette
Hugh O'connell
Newell Morse
Ben Weldon
Gerald Frawley
Sheila Bromley
Terice Von Elm
Elspeth Dugeon
Lucy Kingery
Anderson Lawlor
Joe Page
Trevor Bardette
Bruker
Eric Stanley
Herbert Kingery
Jean Benedict
Helen Page
Jack Mower
Coroner
Stuart Holmes
Jury foreman
Loia Cheaney
Secretary
John Harron
Director
Crew
Stanley Fleischer
Art Director
Bryan Foy
Supervisor
Chuck Hansen
Assistant Director
Leslie G. Hewitt
Sound
John Langan
Dialogue Director
Sherman L. Lowe
Screenwriter
Frank Magee
Film Editor
L. Wm. Mcconnell
Photography
Howard Shoup
Gowns
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Robertson White
Screenwriter
Film Details
Also Known As
The Mystery of Hunting's End
Genre
Suspense/Mystery
Release Date
May
21,
1938
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Mystery of Hunting's End by Mignon G. Eberhart (New York, 1930).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
Mystery House
A detective tries to solve a murder in a house full of suspects.
Mystery House
A detective tries to solve a murder in a house full of suspects.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working title was The Mystery of Hunting's End. The character of Lance O'Leary also appears in Warner Bros. 1938 film The Patient in Room 18 (see below).
