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Before Dawn (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Before Dawn' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Irving Pichel and written by Garrett Fort. The film stars Stuart Erwin, Dorothy Wilson, Warner Oland, Dudley Digges and Gertrude Hoffman. It is one of the few Warner Oland films from this period in which he does not play an Asian character.
The film was released on August 4, 1933, by RKO Pictures.
An Austrian doctor learns from a dying patient about a hidden fortune, and plans to claim it for himself. The fortune is hidden within a supposedly haunted house, and a series of murders begins there. According to reviews, the film is a fast-paced whodunit mystery.
Plot
Dying gangster Joe Valerie (Frank Reicher) reveals the hiding place of a million dollars in loot to his physician Dr. Cornelius (Warner Oland). The sinister Austrian doctor has designs on the money, but must first outwit detective Dwight Wilson (Stuart Erwin) and clairvoyant Patricia Merrick (Dorothy Wilson). The setting is an eerie, possibly haunted house in small town America, where the stash is hidden, and the bodies begin piling up.
Cast
* Stuart Erwin as Dwight Wilson
* Dorothy Wilson as Patricia
* Warner Oland as Dr. Paul Cornelius
* Dudley Digges as Horace Merrick
* Gertrude Hoffman as Mattie
* Oscar Apfel as O'Hara
* Frank Reicher as Joe Valerie
* Jane Darwell as Mrs. Marble
Critical reception
'TV Guide' wrote, "very fast-paced whodunit thanks to Pichel's taut direction, with the added stylistic flair of a glowing deathmask which floats through the mansion's hallways. Penned by Wallace during his stay in Hollywood" ; and 'The New York Times' wrote, "like most of the British author's works, this particular ruddy specimen is blessed with vigor and imagination...There are enough killings and accidental deaths to satisfy the most ardent enthusiasts of such thrillers."
References
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