IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

I bet you weren’t aware that Bela Lugosi starred in an early talkie for filmmaker Tod Browning two years before his career-making performance in the director’s Dracula.  If you did, you were one up on me.  The fact had entirely escaped my notice until the Warner Archive Collection announced that they would release Tod Browning’s The 13th Chair (1929), along with its 1937 remake, as a double feature DVD through their manufacture-on-demand line.  Of course, once I heard that intriguing announcement, I had to check out the double bill.

Both films tell more or less the same story, based on a melodramatic mystery play by Bayard Veiller: Disappointed in the police’s progress in the murder investigation of his friend, Edward Wales (29: John Davidson; 37: Henry Daniell) arranges a seance at the home of Sir Roscoe Crosby (Holmes Herbert in both versions).  With 13 suspects and interested parties gathered in a circle, the hired medium, Madame Rosalie La Grange (29: Margaret Wycherley; 37: Dame May Whitty), reaches out to the spirit world to ask the dead man for the name of his murderer.  However, before they can receive an answer, another murder interrupts the seance.  At that point, a police detective (29: Bela Lugosi; 37: Lewis Stone) is called in to question those assembled and pinpoint the culprit behind both killings.  When circumstantial evidence points the blame on Madame La Grange’s own daughter (29: Leila Hyams; 37: Madge Evans), the crafty medium must find a way to uncover the real killer to save her flesh and blood.

Bayard Veiller’s play, The 13th Chair, opened on Broadway in 1916 (with Margaret Wycherly in the lead role) and ran for 328 performances.  It was adapted for a silent film (which no longer survives) in 1919 and was later remade in the two versions collected on the Warner Archive DVD.  While I was drawn to the DVD due to curiosity over the early teaming of Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi, I found the 1937 version of the story superior in almost every way.

It has been noted that Tod Browning’s 1931 version of Dracula is fairly static and stagey, and The 13th Chair (1929) is even worse in that regard.  Margaret Wycherly and Bela add some spark to the proceedings with their respective roles.  However, most of the rest of the cast are either bland or are playing too big for the camera (as they were likely more accustomed to acting for stage audiences).  Tod Browning’s direction is also uninspired, never rising above a flatly photographed rendition of a very talky stage play.  As sound recording for film was new at the time, some of the stodginess of the staging may have been due to limitations of keeping the actors in range of the new sound equipment.

The worse aspect of the 1929 version is lousy editing (which can’t be blamed on the new aspects of storytelling for sound).  There are several shots, often in the middle of scenes, that begin with the actors standing silent and motionless, waiting for the cue for action.  Then, after a second or two of silence, everyone begins talking and moving at once.  It is obvious that the “leader” on these scenes was meant to be trimmed from the finished product, and the existence of this superfluous footage adds to the stodginess of the whole affair.

What a difference eight years makes.  The 1937 version tightens the story to a brisk 66 minutes, and the quality of the acting, storytelling, camerawork, sound recording, and editing are all improved.  The cast is stacked from top to bottom with experienced character actors, and the production, while still talky, feels much less stage-bound.  In short, director George B. Seitz transforms the material into a lean, fun, effective programmer.  The 1937 version even changes the identity and revelation of the killer, which was a nice surprise when watching the two versions back-to-back.

The 1929 version is worth viewing for its historical importance and the curiosity factor for fans of the classic horror cinema of Tod Browning and Bela Lugosi.  However, the 1937 version is worth watching for its entertainment value alone.

1929: USA/B&W-72m./Dir: Tod Browning/Wr: Elliott Clawson (based on the play by Bayard Veiller)/Cast: Margaret Wycherly, Bela Lugosi, Conrad Nagel, Leila Hyams, Helene Millard, Holmes Herbert, Mary Forbes, John Davidson, Charles Quartermaine, Moon Carroll, Cyril Chadwick, Bertram Johns, Gretchen Holland, Frank Leigh, Clarence Geldert, Lal Chand Mehra

1937: USA/B&W-66m./Dir: George B. Seitz/Wr: Marion Parsonnet (based on the play by Bayard Veiller)/Cast:  Dame May Whitty, Lewis Stone, Madge Evans, Elissa Landi, Thomas Beck, Henry Daniell, Janet Beecher, Ralph Forbes, Holmes Herbert, Heather Thatcher,  Charles Trowbridge, Robert Coote, Elsa Buchanan, Lal Chand Mehra, Neil Fitzgerald, Louis Vincenot

For Fans of: Fans of locked room mysteries or those interested in the cinema of Bela Lugosi or Tod Browning will want to check out these rare films.

Video: The Warner Archive has opened their vaults and released a manufacture-on-demand DVD of both versions in the set The Thirteenth Chair Double Feature (1929 / 1937).  The picture quality varies greatly between the two versions.  In truth, we are lucky that the 1929 version still exists in any form, as most films from the time have been lost, destroyed, or have decomposed.  The movie was originally released in both a sound and silent version, as not all theaters were yet equipped for sound in 1929.  The silent version is lost, and the sound version is not in the best condition.  The picture quality is a tad soft and the contrast appears a bit overblown at times, which indicates that the source of the video is a few generations from the original negative (most likely a 16mm print).  While the image quality is not optimal, it is probably the only source that is available.

While it does not appear that any restoration work was put into the 1937 version, as there are several scratches and speckles on the print, the image quality of the film itself is clean and sharp, and the audio is strong.  Overall, it is a very pleasant viewing experience.

In addition to both versions of the film, the disc includes the original theatrical trailer for the 1937 version.  You can purchase the double feature disc directly from the Warner Archive or from other online retailers (Amazon link below).

Streaming: At the time of this review, neither version of The 13th Chair was available to stream.

More to Explore: If you’re looking for more tight, fun programmers in the mystery and “old dark house” genres, the Warner Archive has assembled the six-film, 3-DVD set, Warner Brothers Horror Mystery Double Features, which contains Sh! The Octopus (1937), The Mystery House (1938), The Patient in Room 18 (1938), The Smiling Ghost (1941), The Hidden Hand (1942), and Find the Blackmailer (1943).  It is my favorite MOD release from Warner Archive Collection.

Trivia: Bela Lugosi is wearing the same ring with the large dark stone that he wears in Dracula, which means that the ring was probably Bela’s personal property and not something that the prop department whipped up specifically for the Count.

For More Info: There are several books available on the participants of The 13th Chair.  For more on Tod Browning, you can’t beat Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning by David J. Skal and Elias Savada.  For Lugosi, I’d take a look at Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers by Gary Don Rhodes.  And for the whole of American gothic horror and mystery cinema of the first half of the 20th Century, reference American Gothic by Jonathan Rigby.