From Nov 1933-Aug 1934, Columbia released a forgotten quartet of features starring dependable Ralph Bellamy in the role of Inspector Steve Trent, with "Before Midnight" the first, followed by "One is Guilty," "The Crime of Helen Stanley," and "Girl in Danger." Since only "The Crime of Helen Stanley" is also available, one can judge the series by only two titles, but it's clear that this modest initial entry has more horror touches in its setup. On a dark and stormy night, Inspector Trent is called to the isolated mansion of Edward Arnold (William Jeffrey), who believes he's soon to be murdered based on a family curse involving a pool of blood and a clock that stops. Director Lambert Hillyer proves he was no slouch at delivering oppressive atmosphere (better known for "The Invisible Ray" and "Dracula's Daughter"), and the whodunit aspects are also first rate. Lovely leading lady June Collyer starred opposite Bela Lugosi in a 1935 mystery, "Murder by Television," before giving up acting to enjoy life as the wife of Stuart Erwin. Bellamy solved quite a few cases ("Rendezvous at Midnight," "The Final Hour") before he started playing detective Ellery Queen in 1940, eventually settling into a solid character career that lasted 60 years.

For all June Collyer's second billing she didn't have much to do as the bewildered heiress in this first Columbia entry in a short series featuring Ralph Bellamy as laid back Inspector Trent. Still, she was definitely easy on the eyes and she would soon retire from movies to concentrate on being Mrs. Stuart Erwin. In 1934 "The Thin Man" showed how witty and stylish mysteries could be but for now (1933) policemen were very straight down the line.When a young rookie cop demands a promotion for solving the "Penthouse" murder, his superior pulls him back into line by telling him the story of the Arnold case. Inspector Trent arrives at Forest Lake on a stormy night "just the night for a murder" at the request of Mr. Arnold, who is convinced someone is trying to kill him. He has seen all the signs - a stopped clock, a pool of blood under a portrait and with a storm battered window and a flash of light, Mr. Arnold lies dead.This movie isn't half as exciting as "The Crime of Helen Stanley", an Inspector Trent set in a movie studio and featuring a temperamental movie star (Gail Patrick). This particular mystery features the old standby, a secret diary that everyone, except the wide eyed Janet (Collyer), wants to get their hands on. There's the usual suspects, a crooked lawyer, mysterious Mrs. Fry (silent screen beauty Betty Blythe), a young doctor, who seems to have all the evidence stacked against him as he just happens to be treating Mr Arnold and a nervous Japanese houseboy Kono. The only person who seems to be taking a back seat is Mr. Fry (Claude Dillingwater, who I could remember as the crusty old Mr. Peck in Shirley Temple's "The Poor Little Rich Girl") and he is the key to the whole mystery. Ralph Bellamy is at the start of a long career and even in this he is never anything less than dependable.

Before Midnight (1933) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A man invited Detective Trent (Ralph Bellamy) over to share his fears that he's about to be murdered. A few minutes later the man is dead and it's up to the detective to try and figure out how he was murder and who did it. This is yet another entry in the seemingly never-ending "old dark house" genre. As usual, we're given a murder, a hero and countless suspects. We also get the usual clichés that you find in a film like this. I've seen dozens, if not hundreds of these films and it's hard to find one that offers up anything new original and this one here is no different. Even though the film doesn't offer anything too new, it does feature a couple very good twists that I didn't see coming and Bellamy is as entertaining as always. I think what really makes the film work is the performance by Bellamy who really knows how to mix up the charm, comedy and seriousness. He does very good with the role and manages to work well with all the other actors and can deliver whatever the film is needing in any scene. June Collyer is pretty good as the woman various men want and Claude Gillingwater is good in his role as well. Fred "Snowflake" Toones plays the black taxi driver and delivers most of the "comedy" in the film. The screenplay pretty much follows every "old dark house" film that preceded it as we get a complicated murder, the investigation and countless people lying to try and cover up their involvement. What was so funny here is that the screenplay was quite lazy in terms of the characters and their lies. A character would start lying to cover up what he did, Bellamy would ask a single question and then the character would break down and admit what they did. This happens at least five times in the film and one begins to wonder why at least one of them wouldn't try to get away with the lie at least a second time before admitting what they had done. This Columbia film runs a brief 63-minutes and should keep fans of the genre entertained. Others should probably seek out one of the better entries.

The film is told in flashback by a chief of police to a detective looking for a promotion. The Arnold case, he says is the sort of case that when solved warrants a promotion. Ralph Bellamy is Inspector Trent of the New York Detective Bureau. Called to Forest Lake and the Arnold residence, Trent is asked to look into a possible murder in the offing. It seems Arnold is a superstitious man and any time blood was found under the portrait on an ancestor the head of the house hold dies the next day. Time is running out. As Arnold shows Trent the second part of the superstition, a clock that stops a minute before the murder, the clock stops, a window bursts open and Arnold dies.A complicated and pre-code murder mystery this is almost a straight forward police procedural as we watch Trent try to solve the case. Bellamy plays Trent in a no nonsense hard boiled style that is atypical of mysteries of this sort. Of course there is no way to know whats going on since some of the goings on are so convoluted that you can't figure it out unless they tell you. Still its a good movie who's complication keep you interested. Certainly not a great film, it is a very good one that bears a second viewing just so you can see what you missed.Definitely worth seeing.6.5 out out of 10 rounded up to 7 out of 10 for IMDb purposes