After her brother's death, Roma Courtney becomes the heiress to his fortune. When fake psychic Paul Bavian claims to have a message from Roma's dead brother, he coaxes Roma into participating in a séance. Although Roma's fiancé, Grant, first believes the séance is nothing more than a scam, he eventually realizes that the vengeful spirit of an executed murderer has possessed Roma's body.
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A waste of 90 minutes of my life
It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
"Ruth Rogen" (Vivienne Osborne) is a black widow serial killer who has been found guilty in a court of law and sentenced to death. Speculating that her malevolent spirit might be released upon her death and cause similar murders a psychologist by the name of "Dr. Carl Houston" (H.B. Warner) gets permission to conduct an experiment on her body immediately after her execution to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, something goes terribly wrong and a rich heiress named "Roma Courtney" (Carole Lombard) becomes possessed with Ruth's spirit instead. Also included in the plot is a fake spiritualist who is trying to obtain Roma's fortune and who also had a relationship with Ruth just prior to her incarceration. Anyway, rather than detail the entire story and risk spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a fairly interesting movie for the most part. Made during the Great Depression, filmed in black and white and lasting only 65 minutes this movie is obviously a product of its time. That said, while I certainly understand the limitations placed upon any film during this era I firmly believe that a bit more time should have been added to this movie in order to help clarify and establish the overall plot. In any case, I enjoyed it and rate it as slightly above average.
Supernatural (1933) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Decent horror/thriller from Paramount has a woman about to be executed for killing three of her lovers during an orgy. She asks for her forth lover to come visit her but when she refuses she swears revenge. After her death a doctor accidentally releases her spirit into the body of a good girl (Carole Lombard) who then tries to carry out the death wish. This here was directed by Victor Halperin who directed White Zombie the previous year and the biggest difference between the two films is that this one here actually moves at a rather fast pace unlike the Lugosi title. On the other hand the story is a bit too dry to be fully entertaining and both Lombard and Randolph Scott give pretty mediocre performances.
I've seen this film 3 times over the past 16 years and I have to say that it still has its moments. Real pros were in charge of seeing to it that the movie evokes the right mood. No, it's not made in the same vein as "The Blair Witch Project" or any of a number of modern scarefests. Older movies often have a distinct style which is different than that used by directors, cinematographers and set designers today. This should not detract from the appreciation of old scary movies. Black and white cinematography can only enhance them. See the scene with the dead murderess in the scientist's laboratory for an example of what I mean. Brr.
I find this film immensely enjoyable. Sure it's ridiculous, but wouldn't any film with this title be a little silly? The cinematography is outstanding (particularly in the remarkable opening montage) and the cast is fine. The hero is Randolph Scott. Recommended.