User Reviews

Curiously enough, none of the previous reviewers have picked up on this film's title, which has negligible bearing upon anything that actually happens; of which there is plenty. What 'Murder by the Clock' sorely lacks is decent direction, editing and a music score; what it has is a jaunty plot, a magnificent (though underused) churchyard and crypt set, atmospheric photography by Karl Struss, an entertaining cast of wierdos and weaklings. And the breathtaking Lilyan Tashman.

Blanche Friderici is Julia Endicott, matriarch of the Endicott clan, plainly nearing the end of its thinning bloodline; her only heirs being Philip (Irving Pichel), a hulking simpleton capable of breaking a man's neck with his bare hands but little else, and Herbert (Walter McGrail) a drunken weakling completely under the thumb of his gold digging wife Laura, who Julia sums up as "a malicious designing creature, ought to be hung for a witch." The late Lilyan Tashman is an absolute blast as this platinum blonde Lady Macbeth smirking evilly one minute, shedding crocodile tears the next while flirting like mad with every man in sight with a pulse ("I could be awfully fond of you"), her curvaceous, Amazonian chassis seductively on display in a clinging satin number that would probably have caused censorship problems a few years later.

The unfunny comic relief provided by Irish cop Regis Toomey and maid Sally O'Neil is rendered wholly superfluous by Tashman's rollicking performance, which gets plenty of appreciative laughs. She meets her match, however, in Lt. Valcour (William 'Stage' Boyd), who engages her in a final battle of wills, "one artist to another".

1931's "Murder by the Clock" has remained a forgotten horror from the early 30s, but not by such eminent film historians like William K. Everson, who dutifully included it in his 1974 book CLASSICS OF THE HORROR FILM. Had it been made at Universal, no doubt it would be as well remembered as "Dracula" (which preceded it) or "Frankenstein" (which followed it), but Paramount did their share of terror classics too ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Island of Lost Souls," "Murders in the Zoo"). The sultry and seductive Lilyan Tashman (Mrs. Edmund Lowe) epitomizes what the word 'vampire' meant to audiences prior to Lugosi, a huge star going back nearly ten years, whose life would sadly end from cancer just three years after she made this. Irving Pichel, as the halfwit son with the strength of a bull, preferred working behind the camera rather than in front of it; nevertheless, as an actor, only his memorable work opposite Gloria Holden in "Dracula's Daughter" can compare with his macabre characterization here. Comic relief is supplied by Sally O'Neil's maid and Regis Toomey's Oirish cop (she co-starred with young Lon Chaney in 1933's "Sixteen Fathoms Deep," while Toomey's next film would see him co-starring with Boris Karloff in Universal's "Graft"). No, Paramount rarely dabbled in horror during the 30s, yet there wasn't a single dud among them.

This was another movie that I had never heard of until it popped up on a list of horror movies from 1931. I decided that for my Odyssey Through the Ones, I would give this a viewing. I did read the synopsis here, but aside from that, I came in pretty blind with this one. The synopsis is an elderly woman installs a horn in her crypt in case she's buried alive.

Now that is part of the premise to the movie, but that really isn't a major part to be honest. We start in a cemetery where the caretaker is informing a family that they're closing up and have to go. They inquire why Julia Endicott (Blanche Friderici), her son Philip (Irving Pichel) and her sister of Miss Roberts (Martha Mattox) are allowed to enter. They have special permission due to Julia's late husband owning the land before it was sold.

The reason for their visit is to pay respects to Julia's late husband and Philip's father. Miss Roberts points out the real reason is to check to make sure the horn connected to her tomb is working like the synopsis states. She has a fear of being buried alive. I should also point out here, Julia is hard on her son and he is a bit mentally slow as well. Miss Roberts is quite protective over him though.

They return home and where we also get to meet their new maid, Jane (Sally O'Neil), as well as beat cop that walks around the neighborhood of Officer Cassidy (Regis Toomey). These two provide some levity to things. Jane also informs Julia that her nephew of Herbert (Walter McGrail) is coming over. Julia isn't thrilled to hear about this, especially if his wife is coming with him. She knows that Laura (Lilyan Tashman) is only with him for her money.

Before he arrives, we see an odd scene with Philip. He wants to kill. When Julia inquires more, Philip doesn't want to be a soldier, but a murderer. She realizes she cannot leave the fortune to him. She calls for her attorney to make a change to the will, making Philip the sole beneficiary.

We also get to know his wife a bit more. She is having an affair with Thomas Hollander (Lester Vail). He's a local sculptor who has also been giving her money as Herbert doesn't make enough for the lifestyle she wants to live. Herbert informs his wife of the change to the will and she subtle convinces him to kill his aunt. She won't admit to it, but men fall victim to her looks.

With the deed done, Philip becomes the prime suspect. He has one of the best motives for killing her, but Lt. Valcour (William 'Stage' Boyd) believes that Herbert has a better one. This causes him to be paranoid. Laura seems to be in control and is planning steps down the line. Lt. Valcour though doesn't trust her and is out to prove it.

That is where I'm going to leave my recap and where I want to start would be that this movie has an interesting premise, especially for 1931. This is still pretty early in the murder mysteries, but what I like here is that we're getting a slightly different take on it. This also seems to be leaning into the film noir category since Laura is a femme fatale and really the mastermind of everything here. There is even a bit of flirting between our detective of Lt. Valcour and her as well.

This is something I want to delve a bit more into as well. Laura really uses her sexuality as a weapon to convince Herbert, Tom and even to an extent Philip. The latter I feel bad as he is mentally slow and really buys into what people say about him. She uses all of these men at different times to get what she wants and try to get away with it as well. Lt. Valcour should fall into this a bit as she does try to work her charm on him, but no matter what she does, he is sticking to his guns.

Philip is also an interesting character in all of this. We see that in the beginning, he's scared to go to the cemetery. Julia is mean to him about this while really the only one who truly cares about him is Miss Roberts. Philip is a psychopath though. He isn't all there mentally and he probably needs to be in a hospital to better help him. I believe this upbringing doesn't help in this case either. Julia is hard on him and it has negative effects. There is something interesting from a demonstration that he did that I didn't initially pick up on that plays back into the explanation in the end that I found interesting.

Then really the last thing I want to point out is from the synopsis. This horn in the tomb is interesting. I've heard of this idea with a bell back when science wasn't great. The movie really points out how important the horn is, but to be honest, it really isn't as impactful to the story as I thought. I guess it really is a bit of swerve in this respects, but I was thinking back to it constantly and it doesn't seem as important as they make it out to be.

Moving away from the story, I'll take this to the acting. No one really blew me away, but I think the acting is solid enough to make this story work. Boyd is good as this detective. I like this is a bit early to film noir, so he's not blinded by the femme fatale. He wants the truth and I like how determined he is. Tashman is attractive enough to fit her role. I also like her portrayal. When you hear her, you'd think that she is innocent, but we see how evil minded she is. Pichel is good as playing this character that is slow, but strong. He fit there. McGrail is fine along with Vail as men who get sucked into her lies. I thought Friderici plays this mean older woman to a tee. Toomey and O'Neil bring a bit of comedy while Mattox as well as the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

Then really the last thing to point out here is that we don't get a lot in the way of effects. It is early cinema and also not really that type of movie so it doesn't need them. The cinematography is much of the same. It doesn't stand out, but shot well. The copy I was watching wasn't great so there is that as well. Then finally the soundtrack was fine, but I did want to comment on the design. The horn that is used was effective. It doesn't really amount to much in my opinion. It is effective when you hear it and know exactly what it is.

In conclusion here, I think this is an interesting early murder mystery. I'm surprised to see this is listed as horror, but I think the possibility of being buried alive and what the movie makes us believe that Philip is capable of makes sense. There is a greed and murder as well. I think that the concept of this movie is really interesting, especially for 1931. The acting helps bring these characters to life. The sound design of the horn is effective and I'd say the cinematography, effects and soundtrack fit for what was needed. I would say this is an above average movie and one that I think should be seen more.

That's how detective William 'Stage' Boyd calls it with his analysis of scheming Lilyan Tashman (Laura). Her husband Walter McGrail (Herbert) is a candidate to inherit a fortune from old, grumpy Blanche Friderici (Julia). No wonder she's a sour-puss. Have you seen her son Irving Pichel (Philip)!!?? Well, Tashman is having an affair with Lester Vail (Thomas) and she will stop at nothing to get that inheritance all for herself.

We have a body count in this film so keep watching as they tally up. Tashman steals the show and Friderici is also good. Both these women deliver entertaining no-nonsense dialogue. The film is presented in the style of a creepy, house mystery with some nice sets for extra spook factor, eg, the crypt where there has been a siren installed in one of the tombs to alert people to any movement within a casket. This is quite a good idea. Basically, Friderici doesn't want to be buried alive so has an alarm system installed to prevent this happening to her. She recounts a story of someone who had turned over when their casket was opened. Ha ha. Actually, it's not that funny. I think I might have one.

However, whilst the sound of this horn is occasionally used to good effect, there is one particular scene where they could have just turned it off as it becomes irritating. Also, the lack of a soundtrack sometimes gives the film a feeling that it is dragging. Some tense music may have added to the atmosphere instead of leaving the action stale in patches.

It's nothing brilliant but one of the better efforts for this type of film.

Murder by the Clock from 1931 is so old it creaks. There are precodes and precodes - I find that films done before, say, 1933, are not well paced, the performances are mannered, and everyone talks slowly and takes big pauses in between. And there's an echo.

That out of the way, the cast members proved later on that they were capable of so much more: Lilyan Tashman, William Boyd, Irving Pichel, and Regis Toomey.

The story concerns the will of an old woman (Blanche Friderici) as she decides who is getting her money. That is, if she ever dies - she's so terrified of being buried alive that she has a horn installed in her crypt.

She has two choices as far as to whom she will leave her wealth - her son, the village idiot, or her worthless nephew (Pichel). Pichel's wife (Tashman) is constantly nagging him about getting the old lady's money sooner rather than later.

A domino effect is set up where people start dying - and two miraculously seem to come back to life, though one only briefly.

It's obvious who the mechanic behind the murders is, especially to the lieutenant on the case (Boyd). Will he do the right thing? And can he get the proof?

This is an old dark house mystery with secret passageways, a graveyard, a crypt, and it's dark. Frankly, I found it a little plodding. I thought William Boyd came off the best - he seemed to have found a good rhythm for his dialogue, and his acting was strong. Tashman for me got better as she went along.

I'd say this was a fun film, but you have to be in the mood. The echoes, the slow dialogue, the long pauses, plus the fact that it's hard to see much with the lighting, don't make this a favorite.

An ice blooded femme fatale uses her wiles to eliminate the men who stand between her and a fortune. More a psychological study than a mystery, it may be a bit creaky by today's standards, but still is surprisingly entertaining.

"Murder by the Clock" is an early murder mystery and it has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, it seems to have just about as much going against it and I see it as a movie only worth seeing if you have nothing better to do!

When the story begins, you learn that a nasty old lady is trying to figure out which person to leave her fortune to--and one is an obviously psychotic and mentally challenged guy. But leaving the money to a different relative is NOT a good choice either, as the man and his conniving wife, Laura, plan on murdering the old lady. Once this occurs, it's like a bag of potato chips...and Laura manipulates the men around her to keep killing to ensure she'll be rich AND avoid jail.

The problems with the film mostly boil down to subtlety....or the lack of it. Laura (Lilyan Tashman) is so obviously manipulative and evil that she's practically a cartoon character (like Snidely Whiplash, perhaps). And, because she's so obvious and transparent, seeing men throwing their lives away for this not super attractive and nasty lady just didn't make any sense. The other problem was that the film went on too long...and relied too much on filler. Cutting a bit of it AND making Laura more believably evil would have improved this one significantly.

... in this thriller that combines the atmosphere of the Universal horror films of the 1930's with the feel of the sophisticated precodes of Paramount. This is a rare chance to see Lilyan Tashman in a leading role, and she is spot on as a woman who wants wealth and comfort by any means possible and sees her ability to manipulate men to do her bidding as key to her plan.

Our story opens as does the film Frankenstein from this same year - 1931 - in a foggy graveyard with a group of mourners gathered around a grave. Into the scene strolls old Mrs. Endicott with her maid and son to visit the family crypt. However, honoring the dead is not her purpose, instead she is there to insure that her own crypt is in working order. Mrs. Endicott has a fear of being buried alive and has a creepy sounding horn installed in her own vault so that if she is erroneously interred she can sound the alarm and be rescued. Thus she likes to try it out from time to time to see if it still works.

The Endicotts are apparently a family whose tree has deep and wealthy roots but withering leaves. There are only two possible heirs to the Endicott fortune in that tree - Mrs. Endicott's brutish idiot son Philip and her alcoholic weakling of a nephew, Herbert. Philip has made it clear that his highest goal in life is to kill people with his bare hands, so Mrs. Endicott leaves her fortune to her nephew. Philip has enough IQ points to know he's been supplanted and is upset about the situation, and Herbert is happy because now he hopes his wife Laura (Lilyan Tashman) will stop nagging him about money now that she can know her future is secure.

The night that the new will is drawn up and signed Mrs. Endicott is strangled to death. Soon after the funeral, Herbert and Laura take up residence in the Endicott ancestral home, Herbert is strangled as well. Shortly after that the alarm from Mrs. Endicott's tomb rings out. What's going on here? Watch and find out. There are secret passages, shadowy figures in the fog, and best of all Ms. Tashman, making Jezebel look like Betty Crocker. William Stage Boyd plays police lieutenant Valcour who is trying to get to the bottom of all of this. Will he succumb to Lilyan's poisonous poise, or will he solve the crime? Remember that this is the precode era and unjust outcomes were allowed and did occur in American film during this time.

I highly recommend this one for anybody who likes the old dark house films of the 30's.

"Murder by the Clock," either intentionally or unintentionally, had a wonderful villain. Laura Endicott (Lilyan Tashman) was delightfully wicked. Laura, like many people, was looking out for numero uno, but unlike most people, she was going to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. And what she wanted was money.

She was married to Herbert Endicott (Walter McGrail) and having an affair with Thomas Hollander (Lester Vail). Thomas had money while Herbert was fairly broke, but Herbert stood to inherit a fortune from his aunt Julia Endicott (Blanche Friderici) as soon as she died. Waiting for her to die was going to take too long so Laura, ever so manipulatively, put the idea of killing Julia in Herbert's head.

The entire movie Laura was expertly pulling the strings on various men. The only man she couldn't manipulate was Lt. Valcour (William 'Stage' Boyd). He had a sneaky suspicion that she was behind the various murders and he couldn't be swayed by her feminine wiles.

Like I said at the beginning, I loved Laura. She was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. Sometimes a movie has a villain that you like and respect, and Laura Endicott was that villain.

I was captured from the opening scene which takes place in a murky old Gothic style graveyard...then we move on to inside the tombs! Yeah, this is a good one. It's borderline horror with a large cast of weird characters, an excellent evil, evil woman, and all kinds of cool vintage strangeness. In one scene a corpse in disinterred to make certain she is really dead(yeah). Then an old woman sits holding said corpse which was dead and had been for awhile. A detective looks at the body and says..."yeah, she's cold as ice," WHOA! The actor who plays the super strong Quasimodo type dude was terrific as were most of the cast. This is one you don't want to miss. Find it, along with MURDER AT DAWN, if you are a fan of vintage horror or suspense. Its not really a mystery because you find out who did it right away. Tons of fun with this one! They don't make them like this anymore...and probably never will. Great lighting too.

MURDER BY THE CLOCK has been resurrected in the last few years, turning up on dvd and getting a second look. It's sooo good. When you come down to it, there is something so appealing to these cobwebbed oldies peppered with an assortment of just plain strange characters. This one takes the grand prize. Paramount, at the time when DRACULA made its debut, began its own series of horror films and all had their diabolical moments. MURDER BY THE CLOCK pulled out all the stops, all about a conniving female, memorably played by Lilyan Tashman, who marries in to money for the sake of getting all the money-- for herself. But now for the good part. She has to contend with her suspicious and complaining aunt (Blanche Frederici, in a good role) who has a towering half-witted son (Irving Pichel at his menacing best), who has his eyes on her. The lights go out, the old lady gets knocked off, her son goes on the prowl; lots of sliding doors, eere faces in windows, cobwebs, shadows and a strange horn that blares out in the middle of the night from a tomb to warn us that somebody has been buried alive!! Try all this on for size. The kind of movie written by an over-active imagination, the kind they don't make any more. What a late night treat! RECOMMENDED.

This is an excellent movie from the pre Production Code era that very well combines the detective gender with the horror one.Combining the graveyard setting with the old dark house, it has an atmosphere as creepy as any straight horror movie. The performances of all of the players are uniformly good.Lilyian Tashman is wonderful as the totally amoral con-woman, who manages to manipulate each one of the men she pretends to love into doing her killings for her while protesting that she didn't really MEAN for them to do that! William(stage) Boyd is superb as the tough, incorruptible police lieutenant who refuses to stop trying to learn the truth despite pressure and temptation by Tashman.Very much like Bogart's Sam Spade.Boyd reminds you in voice and somewhat in appearance of Randolph Scott.It is a pity that his problems with drugs and alcohol ruined his career and let to an early death.He was a great actor and might otherwise have rivaled Bogert and the rest as a tough, no nonsense leading man