The mute maid of a wealthy family is stalked by the local strangler, even into the depths of their dark and spooky mansion.
Murder mystery with a melodrama of back biting characters, who dash on and off - stage left, stage right - as the plot cranks along with uneven pace. Lots of little back stories are chipped in, and some of the performances are good, but there's no core, no deep motivation or truth. A few touches of humour, but then some awful lines: "I've been out walking." "In that rain?" "Yes, in that rain."
The heroine gives good close up and is convincing in her muteness, but the pantomime dame in the bed takes the award, even though you sense her character could have been written with more intelligence. And they make the crucial mistake of absenting the hero from the climax, although the end is amusing enough.
The real star is the direction and photography. An interesting opening scene with a silent movie within the movie (hard to tell if they were mirroring the villain's mentality), some nice POV shots and especially those done through the eye, and a plush wedding scene. Also lots of shadow and candle-lit close ups.
Music is swooping strings.
Overall - looks good, but stodgy story.
Murder mystery with a melodrama of back biting characters, who dash on and off - stage left, stage right - as the plot cranks along with uneven pace. Lots of little back stories are chipped in, and some of the performances are good, but there's no core, no deep motivation or truth. A few touches of humour, but then some awful lines: "I've been out walking." "In that rain?" "Yes, in that rain."
The heroine gives good close up and is convincing in her muteness, but the pantomime dame in the bed takes the award, even though you sense her character could have been written with more intelligence. And they make the crucial mistake of absenting the hero from the climax, although the end is amusing enough.
The real star is the direction and photography. An interesting opening scene with a silent movie within the movie (hard to tell if they were mirroring the villain's mentality), some nice POV shots and especially those done through the eye, and a plush wedding scene. Also lots of shadow and candle-lit close ups.
Music is swooping strings.
Overall - looks good, but stodgy story.