In a dense fog, a cargo ship encounters a luxury yacht that appears to be deserted drifting about in circles. A crewman from the cargo ship boards the yacht to turn off the runaway engine. Soon the engine stops and the captain and more crew members embark, only to discover the unconscious body of the first crewman. Further investigation turns up signs of more violence and dead body after dead body, all killed in unusual ways. The story of what happened to the guests and crew aboard this cursed liner is told in flashback without a musical track to manipulate the audience's emotions. This low budget, character-actor-packed story develops several small plot lines, but the audience is soon made aware of who the murder is and why the killings can't stop. It's a great thriller of innocent travelers trapped aboard a luxury boat with a cold, pathological and methodical killer. Will the murderer get away with his diabolical plans or is it already too late? I recommend this film to all fans of early mystery, suspense, horror and thriller films of the precode era. It would be several decades before Hollywood would again show a blood stain on a white suit spreading as quickly as the shock in the first victim's eyes!
11 Reviews
This surprising little shocker packs lots of wallops, so don't read the plot line if you have not seen it.
Larry41OnEbay-216 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
So many victims and potential witnesses, so little time
AlsExGal4 July 2010
A ship at sea finds it is on a collision course with a large luxury yacht. The captain and crew try to hail the yacht to get it to change its course, but it does not respond. Realizing that there is something wrong over there, the ship's crew take a small boat over to the yacht and find it abandoned. They find a couple of bodies including that of a woman dressed in formal evening attire who has frozen to death in a tropical climate.
The visiting captain finds the top half of a telegram that has been ripped in half that indicates someone aboard the ship has been indicted by a grand jury. At that point the film flashes back to the actual reception of that telegram. The person who received this telegram - could be a member of the crew, could be a guest - realizes that he/she is facing a long prison term and there is no place to run. This person then decides that the best way to proceed is to kill everyone on board with some lost in the deep and some found on the ship, then jump from the ship and swim to a nearby island that only he/she and one other person - now dead - knows about that has friendly natives, plenty of food and water, and best of all, never has visitors from civilization. The perpetrator will then be numbered among the dead lost in the deep and, with no witnesses to say otherwise, will be free to live a life of ease in a tropical paradise.
The question is - how do you kill over a dozen people without any of them catching on as to who is to blame before you are done? The answer is you have to use a variety of methods including getting some of the passengers to kill each other by playing off certain hostilities and jealousies to which you are privy, convincing still others to commit suicide, and coming up with novel ways that don't leave fingerprints and witnesses to get the others, all the while playing on the panic and superstitions of the shrinking numbers of survivors so that it appears it is all the work of some kind of supernatural sea-bound ghost or perhaps a maniac stowaway that nobody knows about.
Does the murderer's plan work? It's a possibility...this is still the precode era and unjust endings were allowed. Watch and find out.
I found this film to be well paced with clever even Hitchcock-like reasoning by the murderer. I'd almost call the murderer likable - he/she is that clever. As for Charles Ruggles who I usually find either very humorous or annoying in these early supporting Paramount roles, I found him quite good here as his levity helped break up the constant tension of wondering who was going to get it next. Highly recommended.
The visiting captain finds the top half of a telegram that has been ripped in half that indicates someone aboard the ship has been indicted by a grand jury. At that point the film flashes back to the actual reception of that telegram. The person who received this telegram - could be a member of the crew, could be a guest - realizes that he/she is facing a long prison term and there is no place to run. This person then decides that the best way to proceed is to kill everyone on board with some lost in the deep and some found on the ship, then jump from the ship and swim to a nearby island that only he/she and one other person - now dead - knows about that has friendly natives, plenty of food and water, and best of all, never has visitors from civilization. The perpetrator will then be numbered among the dead lost in the deep and, with no witnesses to say otherwise, will be free to live a life of ease in a tropical paradise.
The question is - how do you kill over a dozen people without any of them catching on as to who is to blame before you are done? The answer is you have to use a variety of methods including getting some of the passengers to kill each other by playing off certain hostilities and jealousies to which you are privy, convincing still others to commit suicide, and coming up with novel ways that don't leave fingerprints and witnesses to get the others, all the while playing on the panic and superstitions of the shrinking numbers of survivors so that it appears it is all the work of some kind of supernatural sea-bound ghost or perhaps a maniac stowaway that nobody knows about.
Does the murderer's plan work? It's a possibility...this is still the precode era and unjust endings were allowed. Watch and find out.
I found this film to be well paced with clever even Hitchcock-like reasoning by the murderer. I'd almost call the murderer likable - he/she is that clever. As for Charles Ruggles who I usually find either very humorous or annoying in these early supporting Paramount roles, I found him quite good here as his levity helped break up the constant tension of wondering who was going to get it next. Highly recommended.
Kreig is a mastermind in the ways of death!!!
kidboots16 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Paramount seemed to have the edge on eerie little thrillers of the early thirties ("Murder by the Clock" (1931), "Murders at the Zoo" (1933)). Because the studio was very proud of it's programmers, you often found the same cast members turning up in both As and Bs (John Halliday, Charlie Ruggles). John Halliday was an actor I had never heard of a couple of years ago - now his name conjures up to me, a cool, calm and collected gentleman, who was perfectly at home either side of the law - sort of like Warren William.
The story starts with the discovery of an ocean liner drifting aimlessly in the water. The skipper (Stanley Fields) of a passing freight sends a man aboard to investigate. When after an hour he hasn't returned, the rest of the crew go aboard only to discover his body - along with all the rest!!! When a radiogram is discovered, the mystery is explained via flashback.
Maximillian Kreig (John Halliday) receives a radiogram telling him that his financial empire is wiped out and he will face embezzlement charges when he lands. He then blithely tells the young radio operator (William Janney) his plans - to kill all the crew, scuttle the boat and live out the rest of his days on a desert island. Before the R.O. can grasp the enormity of the plan, he is shot by Kreig, who tries to make it look like a suicide, then takes the suspicion off himself by explaining why it must be murder!!! From then on the killing starts - and all in ingenious ways!!
Lili Kingston (Shirley Grey) has promised to marry Kreig, although she still pines for James Cowles (Neil Hamilton). Kreig gathers all the guests in his cabin to get to the bottom of the murder. He throws suspicion on Morton Hazlitt, who then realises that his wife, Millicent, (Veree Teasdale) is in love with Latin piano player, Gregory Cordoff (Jack LaRue). When Kreig tells Cordoff of Hazlitt's violence and when Cordoff then comes across Hazlitt beating his wife, he kills him with an ice pick!!! All is going according to Kreig's plan.
Not everything.... suddenly in the middle of the ocean they find a stranded airman and take him on board - it is Cowles. Meanwhile, Millicent begs Kreig to have mercy on Cordoff but Kreig is unmoved and she finds herself in the deep freeze!!! Next on the list is the cook (Paul Porcasi) - Kreig brings him to the dining table to complain about the soup, the cook tastes it and falls down dead - poisoned!! Next is the maid, who smells a rat - she meets a watery grave. Kreig then visits Cordoff and after a "friendly" chat, Cordoff commits suicide!!! By the end, the only people left are Lili, James and of course Blackie, the Steward. I won't say what happens to Kreig but it is definitely in keeping with the film's "bizarre death" count.
I actually liked Max - the debonair, calm and ingenious way he disposed of almost the entire boat load of people - you had to admire him. The only problem was Charlie Ruggles, who really slowed down the film with his unique brand of comedy. He was top billed but was given too much screen time. With Ruggles reduced to a supporting player, the film would have been even more suspenseful. Leila Bennett is pretty hard to take as well. She plays the dithering maid. She spent the early thirties playing domestic servants of the most annoying kind - she even played one in black face!!! It is almost a relief when Kreig throws her over- board.
Highly Recommended.
The story starts with the discovery of an ocean liner drifting aimlessly in the water. The skipper (Stanley Fields) of a passing freight sends a man aboard to investigate. When after an hour he hasn't returned, the rest of the crew go aboard only to discover his body - along with all the rest!!! When a radiogram is discovered, the mystery is explained via flashback.
Maximillian Kreig (John Halliday) receives a radiogram telling him that his financial empire is wiped out and he will face embezzlement charges when he lands. He then blithely tells the young radio operator (William Janney) his plans - to kill all the crew, scuttle the boat and live out the rest of his days on a desert island. Before the R.O. can grasp the enormity of the plan, he is shot by Kreig, who tries to make it look like a suicide, then takes the suspicion off himself by explaining why it must be murder!!! From then on the killing starts - and all in ingenious ways!!
Lili Kingston (Shirley Grey) has promised to marry Kreig, although she still pines for James Cowles (Neil Hamilton). Kreig gathers all the guests in his cabin to get to the bottom of the murder. He throws suspicion on Morton Hazlitt, who then realises that his wife, Millicent, (Veree Teasdale) is in love with Latin piano player, Gregory Cordoff (Jack LaRue). When Kreig tells Cordoff of Hazlitt's violence and when Cordoff then comes across Hazlitt beating his wife, he kills him with an ice pick!!! All is going according to Kreig's plan.
Not everything.... suddenly in the middle of the ocean they find a stranded airman and take him on board - it is Cowles. Meanwhile, Millicent begs Kreig to have mercy on Cordoff but Kreig is unmoved and she finds herself in the deep freeze!!! Next on the list is the cook (Paul Porcasi) - Kreig brings him to the dining table to complain about the soup, the cook tastes it and falls down dead - poisoned!! Next is the maid, who smells a rat - she meets a watery grave. Kreig then visits Cordoff and after a "friendly" chat, Cordoff commits suicide!!! By the end, the only people left are Lili, James and of course Blackie, the Steward. I won't say what happens to Kreig but it is definitely in keeping with the film's "bizarre death" count.
I actually liked Max - the debonair, calm and ingenious way he disposed of almost the entire boat load of people - you had to admire him. The only problem was Charlie Ruggles, who really slowed down the film with his unique brand of comedy. He was top billed but was given too much screen time. With Ruggles reduced to a supporting player, the film would have been even more suspenseful. Leila Bennett is pretty hard to take as well. She plays the dithering maid. She spent the early thirties playing domestic servants of the most annoying kind - she even played one in black face!!! It is almost a relief when Kreig throws her over- board.
Highly Recommended.
Weird, wild stuff from Paramount in the early 30's
vandino113 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
The owner of a huge boat is sent a telegram that reads "Your companies are bankrupt. The Bankrupt Police will arrest you in any country." The owner (played by John Halliday) decides that the only way to escape from the authorities is to take his boat to an uncharted island. But first he has to kill all the passengers aboard -- and he nearly does! Waitaminit.... the Bankrupt Police? What the heck is that?! Is there also a Mortgage Foreclosure Police? Well, anyway, this is actually a fairly good suspense tale with a 'Beau Geste'-like opening sequence of the seemingly abandoned boat. Then we get a long flashback showing what led up to the ship being left nearly abandoned. Ruggles is the weak and unnecessary comic relief (and almost as bad as he was in another grisly Paramount film from 1933 titled 'Murders in The Zoo.') The most striking element of this film is the unusually gruesome methods Halliday uses to dispatch his victims (including a freezer, a letter spike, etc.) Definitely not your run-of-the-mill thriller from this time period, cinematically. Worth a look.
P,C. Wren rides again!
JohnHowardReid20 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Agatha Christie much admired this movie. In fact, she used its central theme as the basis for her best-known novel, the 1939 And Then There Were None. The movie itself, however, was actually based on the idea expressed in the opening chapter of the 1925 novel, Beau Geste by Percival Christopher Wren. There, however, the resemblance stops. True, the players in Terror Aboard give the gory narrative their best shots, but it's hard to believe that all the characters succumb to the murderer's rampage without anyone of them having the least suspicion of his obvious identity. Well actually, there was one who tumbled to the truth but he was quickly disposed of before committing his feelings to any other characters. Anyway, what we have here is too much of a bad thing. Far, far too much. True, Charlie Ruggles tries to underscore the shipside mayhem with some comedy relief, but his efforts are not particularly successful. The rest of the players, led by John Halliday, are robots. The director, Paul Sloane, is admired by many of my colleagues as the director of Geronimo (1939) which I've not seen. For me, his only other creditable contribution to movie history is his delightfully amusing Half Shot at Sunrise (1930).
All aboard.
morrison-dylan-fan16 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Taking a look at a selection of titles that a fellow IMDber had kindly sent me,I was delighted to spot a near-forgotten Pre-Code Slasher film,which led to me getting ready to step aboard the terror ship.
The plot:
Out on the high seas,a ships crew spot an empty ship near by.Getting aboard the ship,the crew discover that everyone on the boat appears to have been murdered.
The past:
Checking in on the ship's radio operator, Maximilian Kreig is horrified to find out that a telegram has been sent out,announcing that he is to be arrested for his companies dodgy dealings.Desperate to keep this news hidden,Kreig grabs the telegram and kills the operator.As the ship heads towards its destination,Kreig tries to keep his fiancé Lili Kingston from not knowing about his impending arrest.Nearing his wits end,Kreig suddenly comes up with a plan which would involve him and Kingston being the only people on the ship,whose destination would be changed.Happy about his idea,Kreig begins making plans on how he can kill the ships crew,one by one.
View on the film:
Opening with a ship coming out of deep fog,director Paul Sloane and cinematographer Harry Fischbeck cover the film in deep, rich velvet shadows,as Sloane and Fischbeck show tremendous skill in using crystal clear bright lights to "hit" the viewer with each of Kreig's attacks.Along with the shadows creating an atmosphere of impending doom,Sloane also shows a stylish eye for giving each of the murder scenes a real punch,with a killing which involves someone falling on their saw (or in this case,pushed) striking with a brutal horror edge that can still be felt over 80 years later.
Traveling on the murky waters which 1932's Thirteen Women had uncovered,the screenplay by Robert Presnell Sr., Manuel Seff and Harvey F. Thew cuts deep into the yet to exist Slasher genre,as the writer's gleefully splash the film with charmingly deranged killings that pile the bodies high,as Kreig goes from misusing a deep freezer,to transforming lifeboats into deathboats.Along with the sharp Slasher bite,the writer's also whip up a wonderfully off-beat melodrama,as Kingston finds herself desiring her former lover,whilst Kreig starts dreaming about making his erotic island dream become a reality.
Entering this proto-Slasher Horror killing the radio operator, John Halliday gives an excellent performance as Kreig,as Halliday shows Kreig having the wits to go from one minute laying on the charms to keep his secrets hidden,to exploding with a furious,blood-thirsty rage.Joining Haliday on the blood-drenched ship,the pretty Shirley Grey gives the title a touch of sass as Kreig's unlucky fiancé,whilst Neil Hamilton (not the former UK MP,but the future Commissioner Gordon of Adam West's Batman!) gives a very good cold- hearted performance as Kingston's former lover,who joins everyone in getting aboard a ship,where they will meet their final end.
The plot:
Out on the high seas,a ships crew spot an empty ship near by.Getting aboard the ship,the crew discover that everyone on the boat appears to have been murdered.
The past:
Checking in on the ship's radio operator, Maximilian Kreig is horrified to find out that a telegram has been sent out,announcing that he is to be arrested for his companies dodgy dealings.Desperate to keep this news hidden,Kreig grabs the telegram and kills the operator.As the ship heads towards its destination,Kreig tries to keep his fiancé Lili Kingston from not knowing about his impending arrest.Nearing his wits end,Kreig suddenly comes up with a plan which would involve him and Kingston being the only people on the ship,whose destination would be changed.Happy about his idea,Kreig begins making plans on how he can kill the ships crew,one by one.
View on the film:
Opening with a ship coming out of deep fog,director Paul Sloane and cinematographer Harry Fischbeck cover the film in deep, rich velvet shadows,as Sloane and Fischbeck show tremendous skill in using crystal clear bright lights to "hit" the viewer with each of Kreig's attacks.Along with the shadows creating an atmosphere of impending doom,Sloane also shows a stylish eye for giving each of the murder scenes a real punch,with a killing which involves someone falling on their saw (or in this case,pushed) striking with a brutal horror edge that can still be felt over 80 years later.
Traveling on the murky waters which 1932's Thirteen Women had uncovered,the screenplay by Robert Presnell Sr., Manuel Seff and Harvey F. Thew cuts deep into the yet to exist Slasher genre,as the writer's gleefully splash the film with charmingly deranged killings that pile the bodies high,as Kreig goes from misusing a deep freezer,to transforming lifeboats into deathboats.Along with the sharp Slasher bite,the writer's also whip up a wonderfully off-beat melodrama,as Kingston finds herself desiring her former lover,whilst Kreig starts dreaming about making his erotic island dream become a reality.
Entering this proto-Slasher Horror killing the radio operator, John Halliday gives an excellent performance as Kreig,as Halliday shows Kreig having the wits to go from one minute laying on the charms to keep his secrets hidden,to exploding with a furious,blood-thirsty rage.Joining Haliday on the blood-drenched ship,the pretty Shirley Grey gives the title a touch of sass as Kreig's unlucky fiancé,whilst Neil Hamilton (not the former UK MP,but the future Commissioner Gordon of Adam West's Batman!) gives a very good cold- hearted performance as Kingston's former lover,who joins everyone in getting aboard a ship,where they will meet their final end.
Murder Ahoy!
the_mysteriousx16 March 2004
I read somewhere that this was like a Friday the 13th film for the 1930s - that may be an understatement. After the first half hour, it's murder the rest of the way! Yippee!! And not to spoil anything, the villains' comeuppance is not enough in my opinion. If anyone ever deserved it, he should have been quartered with each quarter being sent to the four corners of the earth and then quartered again.
John Halliday plays a completely 100% monstrous man named Max, who for no explained reason becomes one of the great serial killers in history. People get shot, stabbed, poisoned, drowned, frozen to death, bludgeoned and much, much more for all you death fans out there. This is all supposed to occur because he was supposed to be indicted for grand larceny?? At least Lugosi would have fun doing this!! Halliday is a robot, endlessly repeating, "Oh, what a tragedy" in a mild feign surprise after each death.
The real downer of this film may actually be that there is no life to these people before he kills them. All that really happens is Halliday killing people with no conscience whatsoever. The copy I saw was not very clear, but I imagine the cinematography was quite good. There are some terrific silhouette shots, meaningful camera moves and some disturbing shots of death. The plot is an excellent idea, particularly with the "Mary Celeste" ghost ship, and it's 'Beau Geste'-like opening sequence. This is definitely the grimmest 30s horror movie - Charlie Ruggles' comic relief is actually welcome!!! 5/10
John Halliday plays a completely 100% monstrous man named Max, who for no explained reason becomes one of the great serial killers in history. People get shot, stabbed, poisoned, drowned, frozen to death, bludgeoned and much, much more for all you death fans out there. This is all supposed to occur because he was supposed to be indicted for grand larceny?? At least Lugosi would have fun doing this!! Halliday is a robot, endlessly repeating, "Oh, what a tragedy" in a mild feign surprise after each death.
The real downer of this film may actually be that there is no life to these people before he kills them. All that really happens is Halliday killing people with no conscience whatsoever. The copy I saw was not very clear, but I imagine the cinematography was quite good. There are some terrific silhouette shots, meaningful camera moves and some disturbing shots of death. The plot is an excellent idea, particularly with the "Mary Celeste" ghost ship, and it's 'Beau Geste'-like opening sequence. This is definitely the grimmest 30s horror movie - Charlie Ruggles' comic relief is actually welcome!!! 5/10
Evil to the max!
mark.waltz10 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Among the great villains of the early 1930s, adding John Halliday for his performance as a ship's officer who goes mad and on a murdering streak in this intriguing pre-code melodrama that has to be seen to be believed. best known for his performance as the missing in action patriarch in "The Philadelphia Story", his alleged affairs in that comedy are nothing compared to what he does here and it is so much fun to watch him plus his next murder and ultimately get his comeuppance. whatever the motives are, it really doesn't matter. This is a film that grips you simply because it delights in its malevolence.
Second billed to Halliday is Charlie Ruggles as the comic relief officer who manages to escape death simply by either being intoxicated or just too stupid and in the right place at the right time.
Shirley Grey, Verree Teasdale and Leila Bennett are the bevy of lovelies involved in this mystery of what happened on a floating death vessel, and one of them gets a very chilling ending. Neil Hamilton and Jack La Rue are in support but basically secondary and insignificant. The direction by Paul Sloan is artistic, and the film flows at a speedy pace that any luxury liner would have a difficult time keeping up with. Outstanding photography and a great musical score underline the slight horror elements that shows what happens when humans lose their grips and make sure that everybody in their path lose their lives. They certainly don't make them any more like this, and with or without the code, this is one of a kind.
Second billed to Halliday is Charlie Ruggles as the comic relief officer who manages to escape death simply by either being intoxicated or just too stupid and in the right place at the right time.
Shirley Grey, Verree Teasdale and Leila Bennett are the bevy of lovelies involved in this mystery of what happened on a floating death vessel, and one of them gets a very chilling ending. Neil Hamilton and Jack La Rue are in support but basically secondary and insignificant. The direction by Paul Sloan is artistic, and the film flows at a speedy pace that any luxury liner would have a difficult time keeping up with. Outstanding photography and a great musical score underline the slight horror elements that shows what happens when humans lose their grips and make sure that everybody in their path lose their lives. They certainly don't make them any more like this, and with or without the code, this is one of a kind.
Charles Ruggles Wants To Go Home
boblipton28 November 2022
A passing ship finds a yacht adrift. Captain Stanley Fields leads a rescue party and sends a man on board. When they follow, they find no one alive, and the corpse of a woman who has frozen to death in the tropics. We then flash back a few days, when the yacht's owner, John Halliday, has just received a radiogram that he has been indicted. His guests are involved intrigues of a sexual nature, and the crew is growing desperate.... except for superstitious steward Charley Ruggles, who's sporting a lower-east-side accent.
It's a competently made, though not terribly excellent little movie, with a cast of largely supporting actors, including Veree Teasdale, Neil Hamilton, and Bobby Dunn as a cross-eyed sailor, just the thing to fill out a movie program.
It's a competently made, though not terribly excellent little movie, with a cast of largely supporting actors, including Veree Teasdale, Neil Hamilton, and Bobby Dunn as a cross-eyed sailor, just the thing to fill out a movie program.
Real Thriller
view_and_review22 January 2024
I liked "Terror Abroad" a lot. This is one of the best thrillers I've seen from that time period. It was so unlike most of the crime movies of that time in which there was a murder, or even multiple murders, as those were usually crime dramas. This was not a crime drama. This was a crime thriller, bordering on horror.
One of the main reasons I liked "Terror Abroad" is that the antagonist in this movie was a bona fide killer. He wasn't someone who threatened to kill or someone who went through great plans to kill, he was someone who simply killed anyone, and everyone who got in his way.
Maximilian Kreig (John Halliday, who looked a lot like Paul Lukas) was the owner of a yacht and he was sailing in the Pacific Ocean on his way to the island of Samoa with a total of around 20 people counting guests and crew. When his communications officer or communications person received a telegram stating that Maximillian was to be arrested, Max killed his communications guy then destroyed the communications equipment so that no message could get in or out. From there he went into self preservation mode, which meant he had to eliminate any, and everyone who would suspect him of being a killer and/or suspect him of being in trouble with the law--which leads me to a question.
Why is it back then that people were so "brave" that they'd confront someone they believe is a killer? The situation usually goes down like this:
Protagonist or innocent person finds evidence that bad guy is the killer. Bad guy doesn't know innocent person has found evidence. Innocent person confronts bad guy saying something like, "I know you're the killer!" or throws all kinds of aspersions. Now bad guy has to kill innocent person to keep them quiet.
A couple of Maximillian's murders were like that, but he piled up the bodies in a myriad ways. He was responsible for the death of no less than a dozen people. Most he killed with his own hands. Others he put in a situation which would result in death. One he manipulated into killing another and then he manipulated the same person to commit suicide. At the rate Maximillian was going he was creating a ghost ship.
Of note in the movie was Charles Ruggles, the comic relief. I felt like the movie was so heavy and dark for 1933 that they added Charles Ruggles to insert some levity. Also in the movie were Shirley Grey, Neil Hamilton, Jack La Rue, and Leila Bennett, the Zasu Pitts clone.
Free on Internet Archive.
One of the main reasons I liked "Terror Abroad" is that the antagonist in this movie was a bona fide killer. He wasn't someone who threatened to kill or someone who went through great plans to kill, he was someone who simply killed anyone, and everyone who got in his way.
Maximilian Kreig (John Halliday, who looked a lot like Paul Lukas) was the owner of a yacht and he was sailing in the Pacific Ocean on his way to the island of Samoa with a total of around 20 people counting guests and crew. When his communications officer or communications person received a telegram stating that Maximillian was to be arrested, Max killed his communications guy then destroyed the communications equipment so that no message could get in or out. From there he went into self preservation mode, which meant he had to eliminate any, and everyone who would suspect him of being a killer and/or suspect him of being in trouble with the law--which leads me to a question.
Why is it back then that people were so "brave" that they'd confront someone they believe is a killer? The situation usually goes down like this:
Protagonist or innocent person finds evidence that bad guy is the killer. Bad guy doesn't know innocent person has found evidence. Innocent person confronts bad guy saying something like, "I know you're the killer!" or throws all kinds of aspersions. Now bad guy has to kill innocent person to keep them quiet.
A couple of Maximillian's murders were like that, but he piled up the bodies in a myriad ways. He was responsible for the death of no less than a dozen people. Most he killed with his own hands. Others he put in a situation which would result in death. One he manipulated into killing another and then he manipulated the same person to commit suicide. At the rate Maximillian was going he was creating a ghost ship.
Of note in the movie was Charles Ruggles, the comic relief. I felt like the movie was so heavy and dark for 1933 that they added Charles Ruggles to insert some levity. Also in the movie were Shirley Grey, Neil Hamilton, Jack La Rue, and Leila Bennett, the Zasu Pitts clone.
Free on Internet Archive.
Good Idea Goes Bad
GManfred22 September 2013
A steamship comes across an abandoned yacht. When crew members board it, they find all onboard murdered. The remainder of the picture is mostly a flashback on what transpired up to the present. I'll bet you think this would be an exciting murder mystery, huh?
Well, no. The story is related in a bloodless (no pun intended) manner that it is devoid of excitement. It is a story without tension or suspense, a poorly done production in which several notable back-bench supporting actors are wasted in undeveloped roles. It is billed as a mystery but is more of a melodrama, and a mediocre one to boot.
The murderer is known right away and is played by John Halliday. He does the best he can in a creepy, soft-spoken performance. He dispatches everyone on board in ways ranging from implausible to downright laughable. The methods he uses are the only interesting moments to consider in this sub-par entry from Paramount.
But the presence that really sinks the picture is the normally dependable Charlie Ruggles, out of his element here in a comic relief role. Any scene containing incipient feelings of anxiety or apprehension are quickly erased by his annoying presence. The mood created by his antics was all wrong for this picture. In sum, this was a very disappointing and misspent 69 minutes.
Well, no. The story is related in a bloodless (no pun intended) manner that it is devoid of excitement. It is a story without tension or suspense, a poorly done production in which several notable back-bench supporting actors are wasted in undeveloped roles. It is billed as a mystery but is more of a melodrama, and a mediocre one to boot.
The murderer is known right away and is played by John Halliday. He does the best he can in a creepy, soft-spoken performance. He dispatches everyone on board in ways ranging from implausible to downright laughable. The methods he uses are the only interesting moments to consider in this sub-par entry from Paramount.
But the presence that really sinks the picture is the normally dependable Charlie Ruggles, out of his element here in a comic relief role. Any scene containing incipient feelings of anxiety or apprehension are quickly erased by his annoying presence. The mood created by his antics was all wrong for this picture. In sum, this was a very disappointing and misspent 69 minutes.
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