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The 9th Guest (1934) Online

The 9th Guest (1934) Online
Original Title :
The 9th Guest
Genre :
Movie / Drama / Horror / Mystery
Year :
1934
Directror :
Roy William Neill
Cast :
Donald Cook,Genevieve Tobin,Hardie Albright
Writer :
Owen Davis,Gwen Bristow
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 5min
Rating :
7.0/10
The 9th Guest (1934) Online

Eight strangers are invited by a mysterious unknown host to spend the night in a penthouse apartment. The eight (5 men, 3 women) are wined, dined, then greeted by their host's voice via a radio broadcast. The voice announces that before the night is over each one will be systematically murdered unless they manage to outwit their ninth guest Death. Based on the mystery novel The Invisible Host (1930) by Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning.
Cast overview:
Donald Cook Donald Cook - Jim Daley
Genevieve Tobin Genevieve Tobin - Jean Trent
Hardie Albright Hardie Albright - Henry Abbott
Edward Ellis Edward Ellis - Tim Cronin
Edwin Maxwell Edwin Maxwell - Jason Osgood
Vince Barnett Vince Barnett - William Jones (as Vincent Barnett)
Helen Flint Helen Flint - Sylvia Inglesby
Samuel S. Hinds Samuel S. Hinds - Dr. Murray Reid (as Samuel Hinds)
Nella Walker Nella Walker - Margaret Chisholm
Sidney Bracey Sidney Bracey - Hawkins, the Butler

"The Ninth Guest" was also a play written by Owen Davis. It was an adaptation of the original novel The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning as stated in the opening credits of the film. Davis' stage adaptation of the novel first opened at the Eltinge 42nd Street Theatre in New York on August 25, 1930, and ran for 72 performances. The opening night cast included Berton Churchill, William Courtleigh, Alan Dinehart Grace Kern, Frank Shannon and Robert Vivian.

One of over a hundred Columbia features, mostly Westerns, sold to Hygo Television Films in the 1950s, who marketed them under the name of Gail Pictures; opening credits were redesigned, with some titles misspelled, the credit order of the players rearranged, some names misspelled, and new end titles attached, thus eliminating any evidence of their Columbia roots. Apparently, the original material was not retained in most of the cases, and the films have survived, even in the Sony library, only with these haphazardly created replacement opening and end credits.

While the plot is nearly identical to Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians," right down to the disembodied voice accusing the unwary guests through a radio, this film offers an additional layer of suspense in that the guests brought together for systematic execution actually know one another, and their troubled, conflicted relationships add to the built-in tension of the murder plot.

At first glance, mystery aficionados might assume that Owen Davis borrowed heavily from Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" in the plotting of The Ninth Guest. But the stage play on which this film was based was produced in 1930, nine years before Christie's novel was published, which suggests it was Christie who based the framework of her groundbreaking tale on The Ninth Guest.

The stage play upon which the film was based was in turn adapted from a novel by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning entitled "The Invisible Host." Both the novel and the Broadway stage play came to light in the same year, 1930.

The film's source material, "The Invisible Host," was a novel by the husband and wife team of Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning. Their whodunit was inspired by a neighbor whose raucous radio disturbed them day and night. The novel begins: "That makes thirty-seven words, said the girl. Will you read the telegram again? came the voice over the wire. She read: Congratulations stop plans afoot for small surprise party in your honor Bienville penthouse next Saturday eight o'clock stop all sub rose big surprise stop maintain secrecy stop promise you most original party ever staged in New Orleans Signed Your host."

The centerpiece of the film's Art Deco penthouse is a grandfather clock concealed behind a curved wall except for the face of the clock and the bottommost tip of the pendulum, which swings ominously within a smile-faced window of light.

While it certainly seems that Christie's infinitely superior work was influenced by this 9 years earlier work of fiction, it may or may not be so. Almost everyone is inspired by something seen or heard which later germinates. Christie may or may not have seen the film in question or read the book, who can know. Did the two American authors and Conan Doyle (who wrote the similar plotted "A Study in Scarlet") also plagiarize each other? As it only ran for a dismal 72 performances on Broadway she surely did not see the play.

I also disagree with some of the previous comment that begins with "Though it runs just over an hour, nearly every element of the film's plot was replicated in Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians'":

1) "a coward who offers to collude with the murderer in return for his life being spared" - Totally inaccurate description of the relationship between Dr. Armstrong and Justice Wargrave in ATTWN.

2) "a male character managing the tension by drinking to excess" - Not in ATTWN.

3) "the two would-be lovers unraveling the solution to the mystery before they can be killed" - Not in ATTWN novel - not in original ending. Bleak ending changed later for stage, film, and TV productions.

4) The 1930 work relies on elaborate electronic devices more appropriate to the late 20th-early 21st century which are used to constrain and inject poison while Christie's has nothing of that sort.

5) The characters, some of whom know each other intimately, targeted for death in "The Invisible Host" are guilty of such serious but not capital crimes as conspiracy, corruption, and bigamy, and the killer is seeking revenge on those who directly impacted his life, whereas in Christie's ATTWN, each and every guest to the island is a stranger to each other (except the married couple of servants) and each has evaded justice despite being responsible for intentionally causing the death of at least one other human being (except, ironically, the actual killer, who took no innocent life nor was the ATTWN killer directly affected by the actions of his guests/victims).

6) In 'The 9th Guest', at least one completely innocent person is killed (later revealed as the electrician who wired the apartment so a high-voltage charge ran through the metal gate that was the only way to leave), and the fate of the two apparently innocent butlers is not known to those of us who haven't seen the film.

7) Unclear and illogical to invite the young man and woman who become the heroes and lovers, as they had done nothing to merit punishment.

Serious differences. Also, there is no record online of any accusations, much less lawsuits, filed by either Owen Davis and/or Gwen Bristow & Bruce Manning, for plagiarism or any similar such offense against Christie and her publisher, which, based on the above, would have been relatively easy to prosecute, with a good chance of success, based upon an apparent preponderance of evidence.

Though it runs just over an hour, nearly every element of the film's plot was replicated in Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians," including two servants engaged by an agency who follow the written instructions of their absent employer; an unseen host promising death to guests for their past misdeeds through an airwave device; a coward who offers to collude with the murderer in return for his life being spared; an isolated setting that disallows the guests from leaving; each death being executed in order of "unworthiness to live" through a missive of some kind; a thorough search of the premises that leads the characters to conclude that the killer is actually one of them; a total of ten characters of disparate ages, of which seven are male and three female; each surviving character divulging his or her guilty secret as the body count mounts; an uneasy romance between two of the characters who suspect each other despite their growing attraction; a male character managing the tension by drinking to excess, which seals his fate; a remainder of four characters, three male and one female; a sudden loss of electricity that prompts a shot in the dark, revealed to be a death once the lights go on; the two would-be lovers unraveling the solution to the mystery before they can be killed. Rather than a dining room centerpiece of China figurines, the film's characters come upon an ominous staircase of which each step is revealed to be a life-size coffin with the same amount of caskets as there are guests ("one for each of us..."). Whereas Christie kills off her victims over the course of a long weekend, the characters in this film die in the same evening, every time the clock strikes a new hour. Most strikingly, while the accusing host appears only once in the Christie version, he is an ongoing character in this version.


User reviews

I'm a Russian Occupant

I'm a Russian Occupant

Eight people, every one of whom has got something to hide - from crooked politicians to greedy businessmen to fake 'society ladies' - are invited by telegram to a 'party' in a penthouse high upon a skyscraper; which, as soon as they all arrive, turns into a 'prison', and the party into a deadly 'game' between the eight guests and their mysterious 'host', who communicates with them only via a radio. And he predicts that, before the night will be over, either they or he will die - and slowly, the eight trapped people start suspecting each other of being the 'hidden' host...

Does that sound familiar to us? It CERTAINLY does: Agatha Christie's famous novel "Ten Little Indians", which was made into the MAGNIFICENT thriller "And Then There Were None", runs pretty much along the same lines... Now, "The Ninth Guest" may seem to us like being on a somewhat smaller scale at first than Rene Clair's masterpiece - BUT not only does it predate that classic movie by 11 years, but it ALSO predates Agatha Christie's novel, which was first published in 1939! So the general idea originated from HERE...

And seen as a classic murder mystery in itself, it's really one of the most suspenseful ever made, with a brilliant cast that conveys the psychological aspect of mutual suspicion and strong tensions PERFECTLY, as well as the conflict between despair and the will to survive... And there are some names among it that are QUITE well-known to fans of classic movies: Donald Cook would soon play the famous writer-sleuth Ellery Queen in "The Spanish Cape Mystery", and later became a TV star, just like Hardie Albright, who appeared in many a comedy and gangster movie in the 30s and 40s; and then there is, of course, lean-and-hungry Edward Ellis - the 'Thin Man' (no, not Nick Charles, of course, but the REAL 'thin man' Clyde Wynant, around whom the story of the original "Thin Man" movie revolved)! And director Roy William Neill, who did a FANTASTIC job in creating this claustrophobic atmosphere, later directed many of the 'Sherlock Holmes' movies starring Basil Rathbone. So the whole crew certainly IS a guarantee for an hour of CLASSIC 'whodunit' entertainment - a 'must' for every fan of the genre, and not only!
Nidor

Nidor

This is a very tough-to-find classic studio horror film from the golden age of horror films. Above all, it deserves to be seen by more fans of the films of that era. While it is very obvious from the beginning as to who the killer is (fans of this type of film will know based on formula), the film is consistently entertaining and very well-directed. Unlike many slow and stagy productions from the early 30s, this one is very fluid and Roy William Neill, who would later direct many of the Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, has an excellent grasp on how to effectively move his camera. It is refreshingly unpretentious and almost sickly stylish at times and not stagy as a Monogram and Mascot feature almost inherently at some level must be. It is Grand Guignol fun with a stylish Art-Deco apartment where eight guests are trapped by the titular "ninth guest", a voice from the radio that commands their ill-fated party. It is reminiscent of Ulmer's 'The Black Cat' from the same year, in how it uses a modern design to decorate its' house of horror. The cast is very good and includes Donald Cook, who next year made a fine Ellery Queen and Edwin Maxwell and Samuel S. Hinds lend their usual solid performances for this type of film. It was made by Colombia Pictures.
Ranterl

Ranterl

Ninth Guest, The (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Forgotten horror/mystery from director Roy William Neill turned out to be a real gem. Eight people are gathered at a house for a party, none of them knowing who invited them. Then a radio turns on and the host announces that before morning all but one will be dead. The film only runs 65-minutes but there's some nice suspense in the film as we never know who's doing the killing and why he has such an interest in these eight people and their dirty secrets. The great twist ending was ruined because I read a review over at the IMDb but I still had a good time getting there.
Binar

Binar

The best thing about this movie is its basic premise - eight people are invited by an unknown person to attend a party in an Art Deco designed penthouse. Once there, through a radio, they are informed by the "ninth guest" that it is impossible for them to leave because all the exits have been electrified and the phones disabled. The radio voice then informs them that each one of the guests will die. And one by one, the guests do start to die. It is fascinating how reminiscent this plot is of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None,' her most famous book published five years after this movie. Of course, her book and the films later based on it are far superior to this movie. The two leads, Donald Cook and Genvieve Tobin really aren't given much to do and their characters are pretty bland. Even so, the 'Ninth Guest' is intriguing and sufficiently entertaining to be worth a watch.
Mr Freeman

Mr Freeman

A group of folks arrive at a mansion for a party. Each has received an unsigned invitation and are expecting an exciting night...and boy are they in for a surprise! It turns out some maniac has worked incredibly hard to create the setting and plans on killing off the guests...one by one. The guy communicates to everyone using a record player and no one is sure who the unknown host is...or if, perhaps, he's among the guests. Regardless, folks begin dying in the most diabolical manner...including poisonings and electrocutions! All, according to the machine, because these people are evil and deserve to be punished!

While the cast are mostly unknown actors and it's a B-movie from Columbia, don't think that it's just another schlocky B-film. No, instead it's very intelligently written and exciting...more so than many of the A-pictures. Well worth your time and amazingly good.
Bajinn

Bajinn

This is a suspenseful little mystery produced by Columbia, with imaginative and stylish use of lighting and camera angles. Genevieve Tobin plays Jean Trent and if you have never seen her in a film you have missed a really special actress. Her role in this movie is just a very pretty, frightened heroine but she could do much more. Hard to believe from this movie but given the chance she was sparkling, sassy and had a snappy way of delivering her lines that even the introduction of the code couldn't dampen (see her as a wise cracking Della Street in "The Case of the Lucky Legs" (1935)).

Eight people are invited by a mysterious host to a dinner party to be held in his or her honour. As everyone gathers at the party, the host is absent and the servants have been issued with strict instructions to answer all questions with "I do not know"!! After exploring the grounds they find 8 coffins - "one for each of us" - and are then told by the host, who communicates through the radio, that at the strike of each hour one of them will die. The first one to die is Osgood, a cowardly crook, who plans to poison all the guests himself but cuts his finger on the poisoned cap. Just before the next victim, Margaret Chisolm (Nella Walker) is slain, she is exposed as a bigamist, who has made a name for herself in society, with money from her husband, who she has had locked up in an insane asylum. All eyes, of course, turn to Tim Cronin (Edward Ellis) - Osgood was his enemy and Mrs. Chisolm had snubbed his daughter. As the night slips away the guest's lives are exposed as each reveals secrets about themselves and each other.

Even though my copy had a few minutes missing around the 20 minute mark, it doesn't take long to realise what is going on. The film is filled with actors you know, but can't quite place. Donald Cook was an under-rated actor of charm and sophistication who first came to notice playing James Cagney's responsible war weary brother in "The Public Enemy". Studios found him a dependable player and he found roles in a variety of films from Ruth Chatterton's brother in the teary "Unfaithful" (1931) to even playing her long lost son in "Frisco Jenny" (1933). Hardie Albright, who played Henry Abbott, was another actor who didn't live up to his initial build up.

Highly Recommended.
Thordigda

Thordigda

Easy to be mistaken for a variation on Agatha Christie's famous "Ten Little Indians", this largely unknown movie is more like an inspiration! (it was based on a book written 9 years earlier than Christie's book). Beyond the surefire premise (8 people trapped in a penthouse by an unseen host, killed one by one based on their past sins), it's tightly scripted, and benefits from the absence of law enforcement officials, and little comic relief (the assistant butler). There is even character development! Roy William Neill's sprightly direction never lets you feel claustrophobic (well, not more claustrophobic than you're supposed to feel anyway....),and the actors, although not top-drawer names, manage to differentiate their characters sufficiently. If there is one thing I can say against the movie, it's that it cheats - partly: two vital clues are named at the unmasking of the host, but if you watch the movie again, only one of them is true! *** out of 4.
Ger

Ger

This movie just became available on YouTube. This is an adaptation of the book The Invisible Guest, and follows a similar plot to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, while predating it by almost ten years. The plot is simple - people have been invited to a party by an unknown host, and are being killed off for their 'crimes.' In an interesting twist on the genre, this story is set in a modern penthouse apartment rather than a dark old house. And while the 'second butler' is introduced for laughs, he is on the screen for a mercifully short time.

Don't expect a lot here - I gave it a '6', thinking it's just above neutral. I did watch it to the end, but I wasn't always engaged, and the clunky romance element didn't help it much. Also in its favor, in a negative sense, there was no bumbling police to spoil what there is of drama. Worth a watch for those who like the genre, but not something you'll watch a second time.
Blackbeard

Blackbeard

This is a take on the "And Then There Were None" genre. Eight questionable people are invited to a party unlike any they have ever attended. It turns out that the hot is not around. They begin to die as the "Ninth Guest" is death. The problem with this is the people act stupidly, not thinking of logical things to do, or outrageously killing themselves. The timing of the deaths is absurd and so coincidental as to be ludicrous. Still, it had its moments.
Zicelik

Zicelik

A superb thriller, this riveting nail biter is chock full of surprises that literally shock a few of the eight and might shock viewers as they get more intrigued by the goings on in this variation of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians". Eight people of varying moralities are gathered together for a lavish party at a stranger's home where the staff knows nothing of their employer, and no host seems to be around. As they are about to leave, the radio goes on and a booming voice warns them about the impending dangers they face should they decide to leave, indicating that only the strong will survive, and that most of them will perish due to their immoral characters. The battle of wills between the apparently evil guests and the sinister evil of the host becomes drawn, with one guest getting their due right at the stroke of 11, and several others forced through panic into doing things they know might either shock them right then and there or send them to the electric chair over crimes they commit in their efforts to escape.

The set up of this film is a mixture of gripping horror and light comedy, particularly through clumsy butler Vince Barnett who steals every moment that he is on screen, particularly in a drunk scene in a wine closet hidden within the elaborate kitchen setting. The cast of characters might not be all star players from Columbia's contract players, but they each get minutes to shine as they share their character (or lack of it) with other members of the party and the audience. Moments of panic leads to moments of intensity for the office, so this mystery/thriller gets to include genuine moments of terror as well, making this a combo mystery/horror film that keeps you guessing right up until the end. Donald Cook, Genevieve Tobin, Hardie Albright and Edward Ellis are the top billed guests, with Samuel S. Hinds and Nella Walker also recognizable for savvy classic movie watchers. The script, though, is the true star, intelligently written and sophisticated in its way of developing the terrors that go on right up until the end.