Night of Terror (1933)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

The greatest movie ever!

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This is a classic murder mystery set at a spooky old mansion. Wealthy Richard Rinehart is murdered at his posh estate. There are plenty of kooky and creepy people about who frequent the manor. Bela plays a household servant, a mystic who believes in his wife's ability to foretell the future.Wallace Ford plays the wise cracking reporter who seems one step ahead of the police. While the police believe an escaped maniac is the killer, Ford probes to learn who will benefit from Rinehart's murder.One problem I have with the film is the escaped maniac who is about and who is killing people in the area. We are told that he has already murdered 12 people. The police then announce he was last seen around the Rinehart estate. He murders a yard worker at the estate early on and then spends the rest of the film peering in windows and skulking about the estate. It is beyond reason that the maniac is not captured or that the police are not hunting madly for a man who has murdered 13 people. That said, I understand he is present as a red herring and the murderer has used the maniac's present to commit the murder.

Night of Terror (1933) ** (out of 4) Somewhat entertaining but overall boring horror/mystery about a deformed madman killing off members of an estate with a large knife. Even though he gets top billing, Bela Lugosi is wasted as the Hindu servant. The cast is mainly boring and this leads to the viewer not caring who lives or dies but the look of the madman is nice. Wallace Ford co-stars. The ending is followed by another ending where the maniac warns audience members not to reveal the ending or he'll come and kill them.

I'm sorry I waited so long to see this film; for years I'd heard how poor it allegedly was, so I made the mistake of steering clear of it for far too long. It's nothing 'great,' but it certainly was fair enough and hit the spot with me for Halloween-time viewing. It's a murder mystery set in a creepy house with a decent share of horrific elements: a Mr. Hyde-like goon with a knife in top hat and cape called The Maniac stalks the grounds; a scientist experiments with suspended animation and getting himself buried alive; the otherworldly Bela Lugosi headlines as a peculiar household servant in a turban who's married to his eerily mystical wife. Add to the mix Wallace Ford (THE MUMMY'S HAND, THE MUMMY'S TOMB, THE APE MAN) and some occasional dashes of humor, and there are far worse ways to spend just over an hour. The wrap-up of this whodunit is satisfying, and there is a secret 'gag' ending that really delivers. ** out of ****

As usual, i must disagree with the other reviewer. All that cliche-ic stuff (secret panels, the "maniac", seances, etc) is what makes this film a GREAT "Old House" film! Granted, Lugosi is wasted in this role, but the entire film builds up a creepy, sinister "atmosphere".Both Maltin and the other reviewer dismiss the end of the film, where the maniac speaks to the audience but, I first saw this when I was about 6 years old, and it scared the bejesus out of me for several nights! Don't analyzse this film....just WATCH it....and ENJOY! Norm