Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

masonfisk A stagey but engaging potboiler about a murderer hiding out as a servant in an old woman's charge. Probably one of Rosalind Russell earliest roles finds her suspecting Robert Montgomery's cheery psychopath to the contrary of everyone else. Remade in 1964 w/Albert Finney, this drama is ahead of its time & it could stand another remake (I usually would stand by the original) but the times & mores have been updated so this yarn could be a good reboot.

frankwiener Living in very violent times when there seems to be an epidemic of psychopaths in every direction, I am especially impressed by Robert Montgomery's complex portrayal of Danny, a manipulating con artist with a psychological condition that is, under the circumstances, believably complicated and unpredictable. This role is very different from any that I have seen from Montgomery, and it demonstrates his true talent as an actor. With the exception of the World War II drama "They Were Expendable", many of Montgomery's films unfortunately never allowed him the opportunity to demonstrate his true skill as an actor as this one did.To a slightly lesser extent, the same holds true for Rosalind Russell here, who brings intricacy to the role of Olivia as she is simultaneously attracted to Danny while she also loathes him. Why else would she protect him from the police by vouching for the unusually heavy hat box? And why would she risk returning alone to her aunt's isolated house on a night when everyone else is overwhelmed by a sense of prevailing fear about a murderer at large and suspected to be within close proximity. In my humble view, these strange actions on the part of Olivia are not illogical holes in the plot as much as revelations of her own internal, psychological conflict as both a repressed and oppressed victim of her current situation. While she despises Danny, she is also fascinated by his sinister, deranged, and impulsive behavior. This complex character study is not only about a psychopath but about a woman who is captivated by him. In combination, both Montgomery and Russell fulfill the task wonderfully. Yes, the production may be stagey and excessively talky, but these two top professionals kept me absorbed from start to finish, even though we knew of Danny's guilt from the very first scene. Although many reviewers praised Dame Whitty as the cantankerous, disagreeable, old hag, I found the character to be unbearably annoying. Perhaps Whitty played the part too well because I couldn't stand watching her for very long. She reminded me of the grateful tenants of the Las Vegas shooter, killer of 59 innocent people in real life, who praised their former landlord for "everything that he had done for them". They were very lucky that they didn't end up like old lady Bramson. God forgive me, but I was actually glad when she ultimately met the destiny that was designed for her from the start. Perhaps her niece felt the same way and did in fact facilitate the final outcome as at least one other IMDb reviewer contends.Richard Thorpe, as director, and Edward Ward, as musical composer, accumulated hundreds of film credits to their names, and their extensive movie experience produced excellent results here . Among many successful atmospheric touches, I especially appreciated the pan shot of the mysterious, surrounding forest at the height of tension, which I found very sophisticated and advanced for 1937. Ward's powerful musical score also contributed to the overall, suspenseful atmosphere. Kathleen Harrison, who played Alistair Sims' long suffering maid, Mrs. Dilbert, in "A Christmas Carol" (1952), as well as other Dickensian characters, is always a cinematic treat never to be underestimated.

blanche-2 "Night Must Fall," which was originally a play by Emlyn Williams, contains three fantastic roles for actors, and as a film, it has been beautifully cast, directed (by Richard Thorpe), and photographed. Set in an English cottage in a village that borders a forest, Rosalind Russell lives with her horrid, verbally abusive aunt. Along comes Danny, basically brought into the household to be spoken to about a promised marriage to one of the maids in the house. Danny is a sexual opportunist, a murderer, and a psychopath who can hone in on what each person he meets needs and wants. He soon becomes charmingly indispensable to the aunt. The Russell character senses his black soul but is attracted to him nonetheless, and he knows it. What transpires is an intriguing mystery and psychological drama.Robert Montgomery was a wonderful actor, adept at many kinds of roles but most often cast in the light comedies so often made in the '30s. Here he is fantastic - a charming, frightening liar with a huge ego who thinks his crafty mind will win in the end. Russell gives a beautiful, underplayed performance as an unhappy young woman, dating a man she's not sure she loves, attracted to this stranger and to the possibility of something interesting happening to her. Dame May Witty is great as an abrasive shrew.This is one of those gems - and doesn't Hollywood know it, they've remade it enough - but it's a real tour de force for the right actors. A winner.

ElenaP-3 I have seen this film a couple of times, if only for the sinister, multi-faceted performance of Robert Montgomery (Elizabeth's father), but, as someone previously noted, it is an old play and it certainly creaks from time to time. A horrible crime is committed in a small English town; a local woman has been found dead, her head missing. There are no suspects, and the police are alerted for a maniac roaming the area. Rosalind Russell is a prim, bookish young woman staying with Dame May Witty, her petulant, wheelchair-bound aunt. The aunt makes demands of her niece, and tends to be full of unctuous self-pity. Robert Montgomery appears on the scene as Danny, an Irish dandy who is dating one of the old lady's maids. He soon charms Dame May, who hires him on as her helper and general syncophant - flattering her, and giving in to all her petty whims with a smile and a smooth air. Rosalind Russell does not trust him, and lets her dislike of him show, but there seems to be an undercurrent of attraction to him at the same time. Despite her distrust, she leaves her aunt alone with him to visit her lover in town, and the horribly inevitable occurs. I found several holes in this so-called "thriller". One is: if she did not trust him, and wondered about his past, and noted some instability in his personality -- why leave a defenseless old lady alone with him? Why were the police not more suspicious of a newcomer in town, and not more strident in their investigation of him? And, a most unpleasant truth, if indeed he had that missing body part in the infamous hatbox, why didn't the scent of decay (let's be realistic here) permeate that small cottage? That alone would have sent him to the gallows much sooner, as it would have been immediately noticed. So there was a little too much dramatic license here. If you've seen the later remake with Albert Finney - another fine actor who also imbued Danny's character with a very sinister psychosis - you'll find the same stretches of credibility here that detracted from the finale of this drama. It's good watching for the fine character actors in the cast, but not something that I'd think would scare the tar out of you if you examine it closely.