When the film begins, the head of a corporation tells the other board members who are there at his hunting lodge that he knows one of them forged company documents. Not surprisingly, before he can tell who it is, he's found dead in his room with a gun in his hand. It's quickly ruled a suicide--which makes you wonder what these board members told the police*. So it's up to a private dick, Lance O'Leary (Dick Purcell) to determine what really happened. However, soon ANOTHER suicide occurs.This short murder mystery is just about exactly the same as about 95% of the B-murder mysteries. There are many clichés here. One is the guy who thinks he knows whodunnit--and vows to say something in the morning....only to then be killed! Another is whenever anything important is said, someone unseen just happens to be listening outside the window! It also features the scene with everyone in the room and the killer betrays himself! And, when the dick is attacked near the end...everyone just stands around except for one dopey lady who, naturally, slugs the dick on the head! All in all, as brainless and mind-numbing as a typical mystery with not to distinguish it.*I checked and apparently testing the body for gunshot residue to determine if a person actually DID kill themselves was not done until the 1970s, so this is not a hole in the story.

Suicide wasn't quite painless for the elderly patriarch of a greedy family, especially when it appears to have been murder! Suspicions of foul play lead to a reunion of everybody who was there that night, and more "suicides" begin to occur. All the archetypes of this type of melodrama appear including a grumpy wheelchair bound aunt (sister of the first victim who may have motives of her own), greedy and grieving children, sinister servants, a noble nurse and an unwelcome detective whose presence leads to attempts on his own life. Clues are found in the lining of a toupee, the aunt isn't as frail as she pretends to be, and when somebody is caught with their hands in the till, all suspicions point to them.A young Ann Sheridan plays the nurse of the dowager British character actress Elspeth Dugeon who had moved from bit parts the previous year to an unforgettable performance in the low-budget comedy thriller "Sh! The Octopus!". After years of being an extra, Sheridan had slowly risen to "B" leads but other than a few where she was paired with Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney, the material she was given was genuinely weak. Dick Purcell plays her detective pal who obviously wants a bit more. Other than Elspeth Dugeon, the only really interesting performance here is the "Rin-Tin-Tin" type dog who has a fear of rifles and seems to know through his bark who the killer is. This genuinely ranks at the bottom of the rung of Warner Brothers' "B" unit, made difficult to tolerate even at an hour's running time because of the film's slow pacing and stage play like setting.

Noel M. Smith, Director of this film was a veteran of films and created many films during the Silent Era. This film takes place in an old house, more like a cottage and it occurs during a very bad snow storm with horrible winds blowing and drifting snow against the window panes. There is a group of men attending a board meeting and their wives and girlfriends who are visiting this mysterious house. The men have found out that their business has been cheated out of a large sum of money and they have all gathered together to find out just who forged papers and stole all the company's funds. There is a man who kills himself in a locked room and two other murders happen. Lance O'Leary, (Dick Purcell) is an investigator who is called in by a nurse Sarah Keate, (Ann Sheridan) who attends one of the older members of the household. This film is a B film, but will definitely hold your interest and keep you glued to your seats. Enjoy.

I enjoyed this movie very much. Considering it is a B-movie, in my opinion, it is a good B-movie. It is based on the mystery novel "The Mystery of Hunting's End" by Mignon G. Eberhart, and the movie title "Mystery House" is very appropriate, since a group of people are gathered together in a house where a man was murdered. The acting by the entire cast is good. With the exception of Dick Purcell and Ann Sheridan, I was not familiar with any of them. It is a short movie, but there is much action in less than one hour. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in a good mystery movie. The hour went by very fast.