FILM RADAR: pre-Codes: MURDER BY THE CLOCK / THE CHEAT

Next: Oscar picks from the Reel Geezers! Previous: pre-Codes: CLOSE HARMONY / MANSLAUGHTER

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

pre-Codes: MURDER BY THE CLOCK / THE CHEAT

MURDER BY THE CLOCK (1931)
This was a very very strange film unlike any pre-code I have seen before. It stars Lilyan Tashman (clad in skin tight satin gowns!) as the impatient niece of a wealthy matriarch. She is hungry to get her hands on the money and will stop at nothing. She orchestrates a string of murders, perfectly timed and well thought out down to the second in order to achieve her aim. The family house where the story takes place is right across the street from an old decrepit gothic cemetery. The matriarch of the family has a terrible fear of being buried alive so she installs a foghorn device on the crypt that she will sound if by some reason her fear really comes to pass. There is also another concrete casket in the cemetery that opens, allows people to climb in and has a secret underground passage back to the family house. A web of murder, intrigue and seduction ensues until the killer is finally brought to justice. The lighting has such a delightfully creepy and gothic look to it. The cinematography is by the great Karl Struss (Island of Lost Souls, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde), which explains why. This film has a very high camp factor and in spite of its creepy tone, also maintains a great comic balance. Even though it was directed by Edward Sloman, it felt very much like James Whale’s The Old Dark House in overall tone.

THE CHEAT (1931)
I was really looking forward to seeing this film, as I love Tallulah Bankhead. Sure her acting style is mannered, but she is such a wonderful grand dame and so much fun to watch. Here she plays a compulsive housewife who gambles away $10,000 (during the Great Depression no less) on a hunch. She uses money raised by a local charity and invests it in a shaky stock deal, which collapses and leaves her doubly in debt. In desperation, she seeks the money from a local Asian art collector who fully expects her sexual favors in return. This character is without question one of the most depraved and sick people ever encountered in pre-code cinema. He shows Bankhead a collection of dolls mounted on blocks of wood and explains that each doll represents a woman he has conquered and that he stamps the wooden base with a hot iron, establishing them as his “possession”. Bankhead borrows the money from him and then can’t go through with the return he obviously expects. She gets the necessary funds from her husband and informs him the deal is over. He gets angry and grabs her body, forcing her dress down on one side and brands her body with a hot iron. She shoots him in self-defense. Her husband, who is loyal and forgiving to a shocking degree, insists on taking the blame. An outrageously over the top dramatic courtroom scene breaks out with Bankhead ripping down her blouse, showing off the brand over her left breast and setting her husband free of blame. This is a really racy, kinky and wild movie for 1931! Tallulah Bankhead is careless and makes some terrible decisions but she still comes across as a likeable character. The big difference between her character and Claudette Colbert’s in MANSLAUGHTER is that Bankhead’s character KNOWS that what she is doing is wrong and actually has a conscience all along. She is fully aware of her flaws and failings. Colbert’s character has arrogance and no self-awareness whatsoever. She never gets a conscience about anything until the end of the film when presumably Fredric March has helped her to obtain it.

The appeal of Pre-Code film to me (and other film fans) is how complex and rich the characters and subject matter are. Film historian Mark Vieria stated that the worst part of the code was that it “took mature thought out of film.“ Two books I highly recommend on Pre-Code cinema are Sin in Soft Focus by Mark Vieira and Complicated Women by Mick Lasalle.

Written by Karie (site owner) on 02/17 at 11:23 PM