“Do you think I’m so dumb I haven’t considered the possibilities of a murder?… That’s why I’m having so much fun.”
Story: A rich man falls to his death in the middle of the night. Soon, other people living in the high rise stop living. Can two rival reporters get to the bottom of this?
Scares: Lots of thrills.
Splat Factor: A body falls to his death. But as it’s an early 20th century film? No blood.
Subgenre: 1930s Crime Thrillers
Year Released: 1933
Remake, Sequel or OG (Original Ghoul)?: Original
Trick or Treat?: Shriek is a low budget, “Poverty Row” crime thriller that came out a year before the Hays Code put an end to Hollywood fun. (At least until the Code ceased to be in 1968.) This film proves that even during prohibition, everybody still had a whole lot of booze on hand.
Lots of funny banter, including a “dumb” maid, a wry investigator, and dueling journalists whose hunger for the story may not be as hot as the attraction they feel to each other. Louise Beavers plays an embarrassingly stereotypical Black maid. But hey; jobs were hard to come by for Black actors back then (sighs sadly in present day), so I’m glad she got her bag.
As the dueling journalists Pat and Ted, Ginger Rodgers and Lyle Talbot are the requisite gorgeous leads that will ultimately fall in love. Or rather Ted wears down Pat over the runtime. But their constant back-and-forth throughout the story is a hoot, mostly because Pat constantly gets over on the overly persistent Ted.
With all the investigating, very little actually gets solved until the climax of the film. (Though it’s really easy to guess who the killer is, thanks to shadowy flashes of a “mystery man”.) But watching Rodgers do her best in outfits from my favorite fashion decade made my costuming addict heart go pitter-pat. Even though the “a wife’s place is in the home” finale is stomach turning today.
A good one for folks who don’t do horror, but still want something with a touch of chill. And of course film snobs will enjoy this classic movie. It’s no Thin Man, but it’s an easy hour and five minutes that looks great for it’s low budget, and has a killer that creeps around nicely. Plus, seeing an early film from Ginger Rodgers is always a treat.
Score: 3.5 out of 5 pumpkins.
