Cleveronix
A different way of telling a story
Taraparain
Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Antonius Block
Quite surprisingly, an awful film. I've liked a lot of director Tod Browning's films, both before and after this effort (He Who Gets Slapped (1924), The Unknown (1927), Where East is East (1929), Freaks (1932), and The Devil-Doll (1936)), but this one is uncharacteristically dry as toast. One common factor from another film of his that I didn't care for as much as others (Dracula (1931)) is Bela Lugosi, who I find wooden and awkward, but he doesn't account for all of the film's problems. Everyone is wooden and awkward. It's is a shame, because also in the cast is Margaret Wycherly, who was so great in White Heat twenty years later, and Leila Hyams, a lesser-known actor who I've liked seeing in supporting roles in other films from this era.The sins of the film are many. The direction and editing is so poor it's hard to fathom from Browning, though I read later that some of his issues stemmed not only from sound being a new and limiting technology, but that sound director Douglas Shearer (brother of Norma) was part of the problem. I'm not sure if that's true or false, but regardless, the end product is awful, visually and sound-wise. It doesn't help that the quality of the surviving print has degraded, often making it hard to understand the dialogue. I can't recall a single scene or moment that I thought was truly good; almost all of the action takes place in a single room, and it's worse than stagey. There is never a 'wow' or macabre moment, or even an interesting turn of the plot. What could have been an interesting story along the line of an Agatha Christie mystery, with all of the potential culprits in the room with the detective sifting through the facts, becomes an exercise in tedium, moving at a snail's pace. I advise avoiding this one like the plague.
OneView
Some films are known more for the trivia associated with them than their actual content - The Thirteenth Chair (1929) being one of them. As the first sound film for director Tod Browning and his first collaboration with the Hungarian emigre actor Bela Lugosi it is these points of interest in a film a few years before Dracula (1931) that draw most attention.Browning seems very restricted by the early sound recording systems and this very theatrical film plays out mostly on a single set in prolonged wide shots. The opening scene as a mysterious figure enters a building and almost steps on a pool of blood left by a murder victim is handled with some style but is one of the few visual treats in a very static film. Lugosi is very engaged in his part, talking much faster and with greater passion than his lugubrious Dracula performance, indicating the latter was very much an interpretation of his original stage part. His dramatic confrontation with the suspects is full of passion and a certain intensity.
Of the remaining cast John Davidson as Edward Wales is the sole standout, bringing a creepy intensity and mystery to his role, which is portrayed as one of mystery.Existing prints of this film are fairly washed out and damaged which reduces the ability of the modern viewer to identify clearly what is going on. A full restoration might be of benefit if quality elements exist but this is far from being the forgotten masterpiece of early sound horror that a viewer might have hoped for.
gridoon2018
"The Thirteenth Chair" is an early teaming of director Tod Browning and actor Bela Lugosi; two years later, they made the classic "Dracula". So I suppose it holds a lot of interest for film buffs, especially those who want to see Lugosi in a rare "heroic" (he's the police inspector, and he is quite commanding) role. The script was based on a play by Bayard Veiller, and the film is really little more than a filmed stage play; it is certainly more palatable than "The Trial Of Mary Dugan", another MGM film I saw yesterday, also made in 1929 and based on a play by Veiller (that one was also directed by him - if that's the right term, he basically just turned the camera on), but still very talky and draggy, and the way the murderer suddenly breaks down and confesses at the end is unbelievable. It does get points, however, for actually USING sound cinematically - in certain scenes the screen goes black and what matters is what you can hear. ** out of 4.
JohnHowardReid
Not just your ordinary filmed stage play, Tod Browning's production, "The Thirteenth Chair", is your ineptly filmed stage play. In fact, it is probably the most ineptly filmed stage play of all time. This was not director Tod Browning's fault, nor can the blame be laid at the feet of the players, nor the scriptwriters, nor photographer Merritt B. Gerstad, nor film editor Harry Reynolds. The gentleman entirely responsible for this debacle turns out to be the brother of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's reigning star, Norma Shearer – a gentleman by the name of Douglas Shearer who literally called the shots on this production. Unfortunately, director Tod Browning did not feel he had enough clout to tell Mr. Shearer to get lost – as Victor Fleming, for example, did to the sound men at Paramount when he was making his first talkie. Thus there are long pauses here and there because Mr. Shearer didn't know how to edit sound and therefore forced the players to wait at the beginning of each reel until the visuals were loaded and the film had reached a point where the sound track could cut in. Then Mr. Shearer or his assistant would wave a handkerchief or a flag (depending upon which of the players is telling you this story – maybe he used both) and the actors would start talking. Despite all the cards laid against them, however, Margaret Wycherly and Bela Lugosi come out of this quagmire with all flags flying. Admittedly, they have the best lines and best bits of business. As for the murder mystery – I saw the movie on TCM only two hours ago and already I've forgotten who murdered who, but I can tell you for a fact that neither Margaret nor Bela did it!
