Murder at Midnight (1931 film) explained

Murder at Midnight
Director:	Frank R. Strayer
Producer:	Phil Goldstone (producer)
Starring:	Aileen Pringle Alice White Hale Hamilton Brandon Hurst
Music:	Val Burton
Cinematography:	William Rees
Editing:	John Rawlins
Distributor:	Tiffany Pictures
Runtime:	69 minutes
Country:	United States
Language:	English

Murder at Midnight (a.k.a. The Monster Kills^[1]) is a 1931 American pre-Code murder mystery whodunnit directed by Frank R. Strayer.^[2]

Plot

A murder during a game of charades at a society party leads the police to begin the hunt through the guest-list for a motive and culprit, involving a changed will and booby-trapped telephones. The killer strikes several more times to conceal his or her identity, until all is revealed.

Cast

• Aileen Pringle as Esme Kennedy
• Alice White as Millie Scripps
• Hale Hamilton as Phillip Montrose
• Robert Elliott as Inspector Taylor
• Clara Blandick as Aunt Julia Gray Kennedy
• Brandon Hurst as Lawrence
• Leslie Fenton as Walter Grayson
• William Humphrey as Colton
• Tyrell Davis as The Englishman
• Kenneth Thomson as Jim Kennedy
• Robert Ellis as Duncan Channing

Post production

Footage from the film was re-used in The Mirror Crack'd (1980).

Preservation status

• A print is preserved in the Library of Congress collection Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. A working/alternative title is The Monster Kills.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress. (<-book title) p.122 c.1978 The American Film Institute)
2. http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=6452 The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..Murder at Midnight
3. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress. (<-book title) p.122 c.1978 The American Film Institute