Starring: John Miljan, June Collyer, Richard Carle, Henry Kolker, Johnny Arthur,
Spencer Charters
Directed by: Frank R. Strayer
Story: On a stormy night, a theatrical producer, his secretary, and playwright
Prescott Ames are stranded when their car skids off the road and gets stuck. The
three take refuge in the nearby home of Dr. Kent, a friend of Ames. One of Kent's
patients, who is staying at the house, is acting strangely, and the others in the
house tell the newcomers that she is behaving this way because it is the
anniversary of her husband's murder. At dinner, the group begins exchanging
accusations about the murder, when suddenly the lights go out, and soon
afterwards comes the first in a series of mysterious and fearful events.
Review:
Do you ever have those nights where you just feel like sitting down with a bunch
of friends and telling scary stories to each other? When you add in popcorn and a
warm fire I would consider that the perfect night. I missed those days of my
childhood where I would listen to scary stories and just picture them in my head.
The only times I ever get those feelings today is if I sit down, eat popcorn and
throw in a vintage feature. The experience that you get, specially as a long time
horror viewer is just super rewarding and I had the pleasure of checking out
another classic. A black and white mystery from 1934 called The Ghost Walks. The
film is about a few men who are traveling expecting to arrive in New York. On that
dark and stormy night their car gets stuck in the mud and they are forced to take
shelter at a near by residence. They spend the night at Dr. Kent's house, they are
provided with food, rooms and even some horrific entertainment. Dr. Kent and the
rest of the guests soon start to experience different strange events as one of the
guests is found dead, and the question is how and who did it.
What I found most interesting about the Ghost Walks is how the story is told. It's
a mystery film which fools you from the beginning really. It starts with three
characters who spend the night at this Doctor's house. One of the main characters
just so happens to be a theatrical producer and along with him is his assistant who
also gets fired through the whole picture. Those parts of the film have a good
amount of humor. The Ghost Walks doesn't have too much humor as it relies
mostly on it's characters to tell the story. What starts off as a ghost like tale takes
a turn and it becomes a mystery. Judging from the title and plot I thought I was
going to see a straight ghost story. When you watch the film itself there's much
more to it. We've seen so many mysteries on film that it's no surprise if it's easy
for you to guess the outcome. I usually do that when I watch those 'who done it'
kind of mysteries. But with this one I didn't try to question anything, I was so
fascinated by the characters an the story that I wasn't trying to make an
estimated guess as to what was going on. I let the story unfold and in the end I
was glad to have done that.
If I spent most of my time trying to guess the twist or the outcome then I might
have found it boring and unrewarding, but because I sat down and payed full
attention to the characters and just let the story play out on its own I found it to
be a very enjoyable watch. There is much more to the plot then it is explained, but
if I were to tell you more it just might be a spoiler. The movie takes a turn near the
middle and it just becomes a straight mystery and it'll have you wondering what is
really going on. The Ghost Walks is a good feature but like most films it isn't
perfect. While I enjoyed the characters and story I found the actual ending and
explanation to be pretty mild. Not to mention it did remind me of other features
that I've seen. But I still liked the movie and I would recommend it if you're into
these kind of pictures. If you're interested in a good story with a food cast of
characters and wonderful acting, then the Ghost walks will be a good watch you.
Just stick with the story and characters and you'll enjoy it all the way through.
You'll even find the small bits of humor to be amusing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Spencer Charters
Directed by: Frank R. Strayer
Story: On a stormy night, a theatrical producer, his secretary, and playwright
Prescott Ames are stranded when their car skids off the road and gets stuck. The
three take refuge in the nearby home of Dr. Kent, a friend of Ames. One of Kent's
patients, who is staying at the house, is acting strangely, and the others in the
house tell the newcomers that she is behaving this way because it is the
anniversary of her husband's murder. At dinner, the group begins exchanging
accusations about the murder, when suddenly the lights go out, and soon
afterwards comes the first in a series of mysterious and fearful events.
Review:
Do you ever have those nights where you just feel like sitting down with a bunch
of friends and telling scary stories to each other? When you add in popcorn and a
warm fire I would consider that the perfect night. I missed those days of my
childhood where I would listen to scary stories and just picture them in my head.
The only times I ever get those feelings today is if I sit down, eat popcorn and
throw in a vintage feature. The experience that you get, specially as a long time
horror viewer is just super rewarding and I had the pleasure of checking out
another classic. A black and white mystery from 1934 called The Ghost Walks. The
film is about a few men who are traveling expecting to arrive in New York. On that
dark and stormy night their car gets stuck in the mud and they are forced to take
shelter at a near by residence. They spend the night at Dr. Kent's house, they are
provided with food, rooms and even some horrific entertainment. Dr. Kent and the
rest of the guests soon start to experience different strange events as one of the
guests is found dead, and the question is how and who did it.
What I found most interesting about the Ghost Walks is how the story is told. It's
a mystery film which fools you from the beginning really. It starts with three
characters who spend the night at this Doctor's house. One of the main characters
just so happens to be a theatrical producer and along with him is his assistant who
also gets fired through the whole picture. Those parts of the film have a good
amount of humor. The Ghost Walks doesn't have too much humor as it relies
mostly on it's characters to tell the story. What starts off as a ghost like tale takes
a turn and it becomes a mystery. Judging from the title and plot I thought I was
going to see a straight ghost story. When you watch the film itself there's much
more to it. We've seen so many mysteries on film that it's no surprise if it's easy
for you to guess the outcome. I usually do that when I watch those 'who done it'
kind of mysteries. But with this one I didn't try to question anything, I was so
fascinated by the characters an the story that I wasn't trying to make an
estimated guess as to what was going on. I let the story unfold and in the end I
was glad to have done that.
If I spent most of my time trying to guess the twist or the outcome then I might
have found it boring and unrewarding, but because I sat down and payed full
attention to the characters and just let the story play out on its own I found it to
be a very enjoyable watch. There is much more to the plot then it is explained, but
if I were to tell you more it just might be a spoiler. The movie takes a turn near the
middle and it just becomes a straight mystery and it'll have you wondering what is
really going on. The Ghost Walks is a good feature but like most films it isn't
perfect. While I enjoyed the characters and story I found the actual ending and
explanation to be pretty mild. Not to mention it did remind me of other features
that I've seen. But I still liked the movie and I would recommend it if you're into
these kind of pictures. If you're interested in a good story with a food cast of
characters and wonderful acting, then the Ghost walks will be a good watch you.
Just stick with the story and characters and you'll enjoy it all the way through.
You'll even find the small bits of humor to be amusing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall: 7/10
Genres: Mystery
Rated: Unrated
Country: USA
Year: 1934
Runtime: 69 minutes
Studio: Alpha Video
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Rated: Unrated
Country: USA
Year: 1934
Runtime: 69 minutes
Studio: Alpha Video
IMDB Page
Amazon Page
Online since: February 20th, 2006
Review done by: Nightmare Child
