To judge by "Murder by the Clock" (1931), never was a director more aptly named than Edward Sloman. Slow man? Under Sloman's snail-speed direction, time and clock seem to be not just standing still, but actually running backwards. Of course, the stagey, dialogue-riddled, but proudly "B"-grade and super-suspenseless script doesn't help. Nor do the cheesy production values, plus the self-consciously hammy acting from all concerned, with but two exceptions, namely Martha Mattox and rather unexpectedly, William "Stage" Boyd. "Who's the very worst offender among the players?" you ask. Irving Pichel, I'm sorry to say! Although Lilyan Tashman runs Pichlel mighty close, she does model some really attractive clothes.

1931's "Murder by the Clock" has remained a forgotten horror from the early 30s, but not by such eminent film historians like William K. Everson, who dutifully included it in his 1974 book CLASSICS OF THE HORROR FILM. Had it been made at Universal, no doubt it would be as well remembered as "Dracula" (which preceded it) or "Frankenstein" (which followed it), but Paramount did their share of terror classics too ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Island of Lost Souls," "Murders in the Zoo"). The sultry and seductive Lilyan Tashman (Mrs. Edmund Lowe) epitomizes what the word 'vampire' meant to audiences prior to Lugosi, a huge star going back nearly ten years, whose life would sadly end from cancer just three years after she made this. Irving Pichel, as the halfwit son with the strength of a bull, preferred working behind the camera rather than in front of it; nevertheless, as an actor, only his memorable work opposite Gloria Holden in "Dracula's Daughter" can compare with his macabre characterization here. Comic relief is supplied by Sally O'Neil's maid and Regis Toomey's Oirish cop (she co-starred with young Lon Chaney in 1933's "Sixteen Fathoms Deep," while Toomey's next film would see him co-starring with Boris Karloff in Universal's "Graft"). No, Paramount rarely dabbled in horror during the 30s, yet there wasn't a single dud among them.

This is an excellent movie from the pre Production Code era that very well combines the detective gender with the horror one.Combining the graveyard setting with the old dark house, it has an atmosphere as creepy as any straight horror movie. The performances of all of the players are uniformly good.Lilyian Tashman is wonderful as the totally amoral con-woman, who manages to manipulate each one of the men she pretends to love into doing her killings for her while protesting that she didn't really MEAN for them to do that! William(stage) Boyd is superb as the tough, incorruptible police lieutenant who refuses to stop trying to learn the truth despite pressure and temptation by Tashman.Very much like Bogart's Sam Spade.Boyd reminds you in voice and somewhat in appearance of Randolph Scott.It is a pity that his problems with drugs and alcohol ruined his career and let to an early death.He was a great actor and might otherwise have rivaled Bogert and the rest as a tough, no nonsense leading man

Creaky murder mystery about the unnatural death of the matriarch of a family and the attempt of the heirs to stay out of jail. A rather complex tale the film demands attention because so much is going on. Full of over ripe performances this is the sort of movie that they don't do any more. Its perfect late night viewing especially with the great sets of the manor house , grave yard, secret passages and other strange things, this is a film that takes you to a dark and creaky place. That said I don't think the film is anything other than good. As I said the over ripeness of it kind of diminishes the quality, but at the same time its got mood to burn. Worth a look for a dark and stormy late night.