A Night To Remember (1942)

 

A Night To Remember - 1942

Coming up next we have 1942's "A Night To Remember", the story of a young couple who move into a Greenwich Village apartment and find themselves smack dab in the middle of a murder investigation.

The film's cast includes Loretta Young, Brian Aherne, Jeff Donnell, William Wright, Sidney Toler, Gale Sondergaard, Donald MacBride, Lee Patrick, Don Costello, and George Chandler.

Mystery novelist Jeff Troy and his wife Nancy move into a Greenwich Village apartment.  Right away, things seem strange.  A mysterious scream sends them into each other's arms.

The scream came from the housekeeper, who was cleaning in the basement apartment.  Something crawled across her feet and pinned her to the floor.  It's not the first time that this has happened, either.  Jeff and Nancy are a bit nervous.  The basement apartment now belongs to them!

Soon enough, Jeff and Nancy come into contact with whatever this mysterious thing is.  Nancy feels something on her feet.  She also sets down a candle (their electricity hadn't yet been switched on), and the candle begins to move across the floor.  In the middle of the night, Nancy is awakened by something slowly pulling the blankets off of her.

It turns out the mysterious thing was just a turtle.  (This is, in fact, a tortoise, however, it is called a turtle in the film.)  The turtle is named Old Hickory.  The apartment used to be a speakeasy, and Old Hickory was the mascot.  He was left behind after it closed.  Jeff and Nancy decide to keep him around.

Things in the apartment get very strange, when, after returning from eating dinner out, Jeff and Nancy find that items appear to have moved and the bathtub has been used.  The next morning, a dead body is discovered in their garden.

Soon the place is overrun with cops and coroners, who are anxious to find out exactly what happened.

The apartment house is full of people who have a motive for murder.  All of these people were apparently being blackmailed by the killer and forced to live in the building together.  Now, they don't have to worry about it anymore.

After discussing that the killer may well be one of them, Polly Franklin announces in a loud voice, "Well, whoever it was, I want them to know I appreciate it."

The police are very interested in Jeff as as suspect, especially since, as a murder mystery novelist, he has some idea of the workings of a murderer's mind.  Anxious to keep himself out of their line of questioning, Jeff decides to solve the case himself.

His investigation leads them to the residence of Mrs. Devoe.  Information learned there alters the direction of the case and gives Jeff a better understanding of who the murder is and why he committed his crime.

Once the killer is identified and caught, the where, who, why, and how shock everybody to their core.  Of course, you'll have to watch the film to find out who it was.

Cast rundown:

   Loretta Young................................Nancy Troy

   Brian Aherne.................................Jeff Troy

   Jeff Donnell...................................Anne Stafford Carstairs

   William Wright...............................Scott Carstairs

   Sidney Toler..................................Inspector Hankins

   Gale Sondergaard..........................Mrs. Devoe

   Donald MacBride............................Bolling

   Lee Patrick....................................Polly Franklin

   Don Costello.................................Eddie Turner

   George Chandler............................Taxi Driver

And that's it for A Night To Remember.  It's a pretty good murder mystery.  It's got drama, thrills, and a lot of comedy.  The basement apartment was used in the film "My Sister Eileen", which was released a few months previously.

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Maid Of Salem (1937)

 

Maid Of Salem - 1937

Coming up next we have 1937's "Maid Of Salem", a story about a young woman who is wrongly accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.  Her sympathies for those accused and her own origins conspire against her, and only the testimony of a "phantom" can save her.

The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Harvey Stephens, Gale Sondergaard, Louise Dresser, Benny Bartlett, Edward Ellis, Beulah Bondi, Bonita Granville, Virginia Weidler, Donald Meek, E.E. Clive, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Sterling Holloway, Zeffie Tilbury, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Lionel Belmore.

Our story takes place in the quiet, Puritan town of Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

A lovely young woman named Barbara Clarke resides there with her aunt.  The two women support themselves by making candles.

On one of her deliveries, Barbara makes the acquaintance of political refugee Roger Coverman of Virginia, who is hiding out with his uncle because of a bounty on his head.  Barbara is quite charmed by Roger, and the two of them begin spending time together secretly.

They have to be careful to not be seen.  Because of the bounty on Roger's head, it is imperative that he stay in the shadows.  The two of them spend as much time as possible together.  However, observers see Barbara on occasion speaking in dark corners with a cloaked figure who does not show his face.  She is also observed dancing with no one occasionally.  Roger eventually has to return to Virginia so that he can clear his name.

Barbara is already a figure well-acquainted with scrutiny.  She loves pretty things, and earns the ire of the elders at church when she appears in something other than Puritan garb.

At one Sabbath meeting, the sin of witchcraft is said to be spreading throughout the surrounding countryside.  Everyone is advised to be on the lookout and guard themselves against the evil that seems to be encroaching on the surrounding area.

The wife of one of Barbara's oldest friends becomes jealous of her and begins to harbor resentment towards Barbara.  This is especially dangerous because the woman is one of a small handful of people who know a secret about her.

Soon, witchcraft seems to reach the town of Salem, with various "outbreaks" being reported.  Mass hysteria breaks out and many people (mostly women) are arrested for having brought the community into contact with the dark arts.

Barbara is warned by her aunt and a friend not to speak out in support of any of the accused.  Her own mother was burnt as a witch in England when someone who hated her fabricated the information with which she was arrested.  Any suspicion cast in her direction would be enough to spell her doom.

However, at a trial Barbara can not sit idly by while her friends are accused and found guilty of witchcraft even though they are completely innocent.  Because she speaks up for them, she is arrested.

At her trial, her acquaintance with a cloaked, faceless figure is brought up.  Because of his situation, Barbara cannot name him, and by doing so seemingly seals her fate.  The information about her mother is also made public by the jealous wife of her friend.  Barbara is sentenced to be hanged.

Roger Coverman's appearance at the eleventh hour puts to rest all of the charges against Barbara.

The two fall into each other's arms as the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony puts an end to the witch trials and orders that the tree on which the accused were hung be destroyed.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert..............................Barbara Clarke

   Fred MacMurray.................................Roger Coverman

   Harvey Stephens...............................Dr. John Harding

   Gale Sondergaard.............................Martha Harding

   Louise Dresser..................................Ellen Clarke

   Benny Bartlett..................................Timothy Clarke

   Edward Ellis.....................................Elder Nathaniel Goode

   Beulah Bondi....................................Abigail Goode

   Bonita Granville................................Ann Goode

   Virginia Weidler................................Nabby Goode

   Donald Meek....................................Ezra Cheeves

   E.E. Clive.........................................Thomas Bilge

   Madame Sul-Te-Wan..........................Tituba

   Sterling Holloway..............................Miles Corbin

   Zeffie Tilbury....................................Goody Hodgers

   J. Farrell MacDonald..........................Captain Edwards

   Lionel Belmore.................................Tavern Keeper

And that's it for Maid Of Salem.  Taking place between February 1692 and May 1693, the Salem Witch Trials saw the arrest of over 200 people for the crime of witchcraft.  Thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of them were executed.  It has been established that nearly all of them were innocent and were the victims of the mass hysteria and panic that were the result of pamphlets that cautioned and gave instances of witchcraft in the area.

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