Undescribable Perfection

the audience applauded

Good concept, poorly executed.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Some films are known more for the trivia associated with them than their actual content - The Thirteenth Chair (1929) being one of them. As the first sound film for director Tod Browning and his first collaboration with the Hungarian emigre actor Bela Lugosi it is these points of interest in a film a few years before Dracula (1931) that draw most attention.Browning seems very restricted by the early sound recording systems and this very theatrical film plays out mostly on a single set in prolonged wide shots. The opening scene as a mysterious figure enters a building and almost steps on a pool of blood left by a murder victim is handled with some style but is one of the few visual treats in a very static film. Lugosi is very engaged in his part, talking much faster and with greater passion than his lugubrious Dracula performance, indicating the latter was very much an interpretation of his original stage part. His dramatic confrontation with the suspects is full of passion and a certain intensity. Of the remaining cast John Davidson as Edward Wales is the sole standout, bringing a creepy intensity and mystery to his role, which is portrayed as one of mystery.Existing prints of this film are fairly washed out and damaged which reduces the ability of the modern viewer to identify clearly what is going on. A full restoration might be of benefit if quality elements exist but this is far from being the forgotten masterpiece of early sound horror that a viewer might have hoped for.

In the early days of talking pictures, movies were rather awkward because the sound equipment was so cumbersome and antiquated. It was also awkward simply because directors and actors were used to making silents and making the acting seem normal and natural was an evolving process...and it's obvious in "The Thirteenth Chair" that it still needed a lot of evolution! The dialog is, at times, clunky and unnatural and the delivery often sounded like a stage production instead of a movie. To make it worse, the film had some of the absolute worst editing I've ever seen. For example, a man and woman are talking in the garden and yet the camera keeps cutting back to other folks in another part of the house...and you can still hear the lovers making small talk. Another example are times that folks have their backs to the camera for extended periods as they talked. Surprisingly, the director was Tod Browning...one of the best directors of the 1930s and the man responsible for some of the best horror films of all time (such as "Dracula" and "Freaks"). He obviously still had a lot to learn in 1929.This murder mystery is unusual because it begins AFTER some scoundrel has been murdered. In order to trap the unknown killer, a seance is being staged...and it's hoped that the murderer will betray themselves.The story is not too bad but it's obvious that it was a play first. And, instead of properly adapting it to film, it looks much like they just filmed the play...and poorly. Even with a chance to see and hear Bela Lugosi in his first talking film, it's a curio...but a dull one.

Not just your ordinary filmed stage play, Tod Browning's production, "The Thirteenth Chair", is your ineptly filmed stage play. In fact, it is probably the most ineptly filmed stage play of all time. This was not director Tod Browning's fault, nor can the blame be laid at the feet of the players, nor the scriptwriters, nor photographer Merritt B. Gerstad, nor film editor Harry Reynolds. The gentleman entirely responsible for this debacle turns out to be the brother of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's reigning star, Norma Shearer – a gentleman by the name of Douglas Shearer who literally called the shots on this production. Unfortunately, director Tod Browning did not feel he had enough clout to tell Mr. Shearer to get lost – as Victor Fleming, for example, did to the sound men at Paramount when he was making his first talkie. Thus there are long pauses here and there because Mr. Shearer didn't know how to edit sound and therefore forced the players to wait at the beginning of each reel until the visuals were loaded and the film had reached a point where the sound track could cut in. Then Mr. Shearer or his assistant would wave a handkerchief or a flag (depending upon which of the players is telling you this story – maybe he used both) and the actors would start talking. Despite all the cards laid against them, however, Margaret Wycherly and Bela Lugosi come out of this quagmire with all flags flying. Admittedly, they have the best lines and best bits of business. As for the murder mystery – I saw the movie on TCM only two hours ago and already I've forgotten who murdered who, but I can tell you for a fact that neither Margaret nor Bela did it!

Directed by Tod Browning, The Thirteenth Chair is a well-written and acted murder mystery from a time (1929) when, due to primitive sound recording techniques, the camera had to remain in one place during a scene. The result is that the movie, while well-designed, is rather static visually. It more than makes up for this by having an exciting, if at times rather hard to follow plot, and an ingenious script with enough twists and turns in the plot to satisfy most mystery fans. For claustrophiles the movie is a delight: no one goes ANYWHERE in this film. There are some interesting visual and spatial peculiarities in the movie, such as very high ceilings on the sets, and more obviously fake than usual exteriors just outside the windows. People have a way of assembling in rooms rather than just sitting there or milling around, which gives the movie an offbeat, ritualistic feeling; probably typical enough in the theater of the time, but unusual in a film. The actors, notably Margaret Wycherly, are quite good, with Bela Lugosi giving an energetic reading of a shrewd police detective in a quite different key from his later work. One can't help but wonder what sort of screen actor Lugosi might have become had he not been typecast in horror roles. Leila Hyams is radiant as one of the chief suspects, and it's remarkable that she didn't become a bigger star, on looks alone. There is no pace to speak of in the film, as the story proceeds by dialog, and by people entering and exiting rooms on cue. Nor are there any of the typical Browning flourishes, as the movie seems anonymously directed. But the script is very tight, and there are some surprises along the way, and moments of unexpected warmth and feeling that make this a watchable and satisfying antique.