While the Patient Slept (1935) User Reviews

Old dark house tale is entertaining if a bit implausible and clichéd...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 23 December 2005]

Another little programmer from Warner Bros., complete with authentic old dark house ingredients--lots of atmospheric rain, thunder and lightning to tell a tale of a household full of jealous inhabitants, one of whom (the least likely, of course) is a murderer.

Aline McMahon does nicely as a proper nurse engaged to take care of an ill old man and soon finding herself deeply involved in solving the mystery. Guy Kibbe plays another one of his gruff but lovable detectives with dull-witted Allen Jenkins as his not too helpful sidekick.

Ray Enright was an old hand at directing these sort of things, a dependable director at Warner Bros. who gets some amiable results from a story which is a good mixture of humor and murderous doings. The finale has all the usual suspects gathered for the unveiling of the murderer--but none of it is quite convincing, even while it entertains and passes the time quickly.

Routine, Tidy -- And Love That Nurse!

[Handlinghandel · 5/10 · 30 January 2006]

This is among the better entries in the comedy/mystery genre popular in the 1940s. No one liked the person murdered. Many people had reason to do him or her in. All are assembled in creepy surroundings.

Apart from a plot that's easy and logical, what sets this apart is Aline MacMahon. She plays a nurse who happens to be in the house and who helps the police solve the crime.

MacMahon was unique in Hollywood history. Though only in her thirties here, she was already playing an old maid. Yet she had an occasional fling at glamor roles. And she was an exceptionally good actress, with a haunting beauty.

Her rather heavy-lidded eyes seem to bore right through her co-players, here as elsewhere. ZaSu Pitts had a somewhat parallel career. But at least Erich Von Stroheim saw her as a beauty and a great actress.

Maybe MacMahon really couldn't have done it. But I think she had the potential for far greater roles than she was given. As strange as this probably sounds, I can see her, decades later, as the tragic Mary Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night." (She would surely have been better than Katharine Hepburn, an actress, I often liked, in that role.)

Nice, but derivative film

[jknoppow-1 · 6/10 · 23 December 2005]

When is a Nurse Keating film not a Nurse Keating film? When it's a Hildegarde Withers film. If you liked this one, you'll love the first four of the Hildegarde flicks from RKO. 'While the Patient Slept' is taken from the first Hildegarde story, 'Penguin Pool Murder'. Penguin Pool's plot is different (except for being a humorous murder mystery, but the main characters are the same, and while penguins are the trademark of author Stuart Palmer, here they've substituted a green elephant.

I now have a copy of this movie, and that completes both my Nurse Keate and Hildegarde Withers collections. Speaking of rip-offs, if you like the 'Thin Man' Series, try "The Ex-Mrs. Bradford" and "Star Of Midnight," both with William Powell, Bradford with Jean Arthur and Midnight with Ginger Rogers. RKO got Powell on a loan-out and took full advantage of it.

Unsung Actress

[tribalmama · 7/10 · 25 November 2019]

I am a fan of Aline MacMahon, and consider her to be one the unsung actresses of the era. She is always worth watching.

dark and stormy night

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 13 November 2020]

Grandfather is dying and he had sent for his vulture family. The bickering family members argue with each other and then they find him unconscious after suffering from an apparent stroke. Someone is killed. The police is called. It's a murder mystery in an old mansion during a stormy night.

There are a ton of characters. Non of them stands out. There is a lot of back stories to keep track. It's an old fashion murder mystery set in the standard location. I would have liked to stay at that location. The mystery needs to be solved right there that night. It starts rambling on and on. I wasn't really keeping track of the characters to begin with. The further away the story gets away from that night, the less intensity it is able to retain.

Archetypal old-dark-house whodunit

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 12 February 2014]

One of the earliest films in the Sarah Keate "series" (though each film has a different cast and setting), "While The Patient Slept" resembles a lot the Hildegarde Withers films of the same period, especially in the love-hate relationship between the male detective and the female nurse here - schoolteacher there. In some of the films Keate (also called Keating) actually solves the case herself, in others she does practically no detective work; in this one, she falls somewhere in between. Despite some fairly snappy dialogue and a large cast (including the doll-like Patricia Ellis) where everyone is a suspect, this film slows down at times; however, it is worth your patience for a (literally) last-minute surprise, just when you thought you had it all wrapped up. Allen Jenkins' comic relief is sometimes too loud but occasionally funny. **1/2 out of 4.

This film deals with family in-fighting, during which a savvy lawyer . . .

[cricket30 · 6/10 · 13 June 2021]

. . . shows up with a peacemaker, and pops one of the leading threats to his financial well-being. Everyone knows that "might makes right," and that shooting irons are stronger than BOTH swords and pens. A good blacksmith MIGHT be able to beat a sword into a plowshare (whatever that is), but probably he cannot pull off a similar transformation with a .20 gauge or a .357 magnum. Unfortunately, the brainy attorney does not get a chance to blow away the title character of WHILE THE PATIENT SLEPT, as such wealthy malingerers often make the best targets of opportunity (particularly if there are plenty of pillows around to muffle shots from guns lacking silencers). However, the hero counselor still comes close to being able to shoot his way out of a jam. Surely viewing WHILE THE PATIENT SLEPT will remind many of you to support your local chapter of BANGS (Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps).

an "off-beat" film

[Norm-30 · 4/10 · 30 June 1999]

This is probably the first entry in the "Lance O'Leary/Nurse Keat" detective series; in subsequent O'Leary films, he was played by much younger actors than Guy Kibbee.

A group of relatives (all played by well-known character actors) gathers in an old house (on a rainy nite, of course!) to speak to a wealthy relative, who goes into a coma.

While they wait for him to recover, all sorts of mysterious goings-on happen, including a couple of murders.

A creepy film; worth seeing!

Murders in an old dark house? Oh, wow, never seen this plot before....

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 12 May 2015]

The presence of the wonderful Aline MacMahon makes this old chestnut of a plot line more tolerable. Of course, it involves an aging wealthy patriarch, an eccentric greedy family (one of them practices playing the funeral march on the piano as the old geezer listens in seclusion), mysterious servants, and bumbling detectives, lead by the pompous Guy Kibbee and the foolish Allen Jenkins. In one of their many teamings together, MacMahon and Kibbee play old rivals. The script gives the indication that this is a reunion for their characters from another film, but other than two films where Ann Sheridan played the same character MacMahon is playing here, research shows otherwise. One of Sheridan's films, "Mystery House", seems to be a remake of this film with an extremely similar plot line. The attractive MacMahon is the epitome of an untraditional leading lady, but there is something about her that is absolutely fascinating. She delivers her dialog (both wisecracks and wisdom) with a very arch, knowing attitude, obviously aware that she's probably the smartest person in the room, and determined to prove that the inmates have been running the asylum far longer than they should have been.

Aline MacMahon Shines In Murder Mystery Movie

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 25 November 2001]

WHILE THE PATIENT SLEPT in the creepy old house, his alert nurse looks for clues that will help catch a killer...

Fast-moving & fun, this is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Brothers was so expert at producing. Casts & plots could be shuffled endlessly, with very predictable results. While this assembly line approach created few classics, audience enjoyment could usually be assured.

Intricately plotted, the film boasts excellent production values & a finely sustained spooky atmosphere. Clutching hands, hidden passageways, resentful relatives, suspicious servants & sudden death all make this a prime entry into the Old Dark House genre of suspense films. However, there are enough solid laughs to help lighten the mood.

Aline MacMahon, as a starched no-nonsense nurse, shows once again why she was one of the finest character actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. Her facial expressions & body movements are perfectly controlled and constantly entertaining to watch. Arch & angular, she has the right riposte for any situation, but she is also warmhearted & fearlessly brave. From her very first scene, Miss MacMahon puts the picture in her pocket & walks off with it.

Chubby Guy Kibbee & loudmouthed Allen Jenkins both add considerably to the entertainment as the cops assigned to the murder case. The suspects consist of a whole gaggle of cousins, including pretty Patricia Ellis, stalwart Lyle Talbot, prissy Hobart Cavanaugh & spiteful Dorothy Tree - as well as mysterious butler Brandon Hurst & the family lawyer, Henry O'Neill.

The MacMahon & Kibbee characters reappear in THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18 (1938) and MYSTERY HOUSE (1938), although portrayed by other performers.

A little more polished looking than most B-movies, but the pacing is awful.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 7 July 2013]

"While the Patient Slept" is a strange film. Through much of the film, many of the actors say their lines way too quickly and there are few pauses in the conversations. It's as if the director realized that plot was too long for a B-movie (which usually clock in at between 55 and 70 minutes at the most) and told folks to talk very rapidly in order to obtain the 66 minute runtime! And, it is like a "Reader's Digest" condensed version of a movie!

The plot is a pretty standard B-movie whodunnit. While an old rich man is dying, various family members come to attend him. However, his disreputable son (Robert Barrat) is shot and killed during the night and it's up to an amateur detective (Aline MacMahon) who also happens to be the old man's nurse as well as a dopey detective (Guy Kibbee) and his even dopier assistants (Allan Jenkins and Eddie Shubert) to get to the bottom of it.

I have a particular fondness for these sort of murder mysteries and have seen just about every Charlie Chan, Falcon, Saint and Mr. Moto film. However, I must say that "While the Patient Slept" is a very poor one--even if it was made by the premier studio of the day, MGM. It's mostly because of the direction. In addition to most of the folks talking too fast, they often yell, over-emote or talk very loud for practically no reason. The pacing is awful and the performances are among the worst of the actors' careers--and the director is the one to blame. Additionally, the character Jenkins plays is too annoying and one-dimensional--much like the super-annoying detective he played in "Sh! The Octopus". He's meant to be funny...he isn't. Overall, the film comes off as shrill, loud and awful.

Incidentally, it is interesting that the film seems to strongly imply that Eustace is gay. See the film and see if you agree.

The real villain was...

[Pegasus-10 · 5/10 · 12 July 2021]

... the director, who either allowed or encouraged his actors to scream at each other (especially Detective Jackson). All in all some clever dialogue and pleasant leads overcome the annoying delivery of lines.

Aline McMahon is great as usual!

[silenceisgolden · 8/10 · 8 November 2001]

I didn't know anything about this film and couldn't find any reviews anywhere but the one comment here so I went ahead and took a chance and recorded it. I am SO glad I did. It's a great little mystery. I had NO idea who the murderer was and was suprised at the end of the film. Why don't they make these kind of movies anymore? Also, the acting was very good. Aline McMahon and Guy Kibbee were great together!

Jolly Classic "Light Mystery"

[wmalven · 8/10 · 23 December 2005]

I ran across this movie on TCM. It is a wonderful classic 30's mystery. Typical of the genre and period, it is not very demanding, entertaining with great chemistry between Aline MacMahon and Guy Kibbee.

Not Sommerset Maugham here, just fun and light humor. I had never heard of this series until today. I love light mysteries like the Thin Man Series and the Charlie Chan series. When I am stressed out, I can put one of these "light mysteries" on and just sit back and let the entertainment flow over me. I almost never know "who done it" and the characters, while light weight, are always entertaining.

I am thrilled to "discover" a new series.

Just grab the popcorn and enjoy!

Neat little comic mystery

[bstrickland · 8/10 · 26 April 2013]

This is a good old-fashioned Thirties mystery, with comic turns from Guy Kibbee, Aline MacMahon, and Allen Jenkins doing his usual Sheldon Leonard- like one-step-behind sidekick cop. It's based on an early novel by Mignon G. Eberhart, who had a knack for implausible plotting that didn't matter because the action spun everything along at a nice clip. Nice to see Kibbee taking the spotlight, even if in a B movie, because he was such a stalwart supporting player, a familiar face in so many movies of the era. He and MacMahon play well off each other, even creating a bit of a romance, though MacMahon's Nurse Sarah Keate isn't quite as acerbic and witty as the character in the novel. However, the movie has its own charm, spiced with a bit of wackiness, and is a pleasant way to while away a little more than one hour.

Aline MacMahon Rules!

[gomescl · 8/10 · 25 November 2019]

MacMahon never disappoints and that's true here again. This movie is terrific... funny, with clever repartee, and fast paced! MacMahon and Kibbee have great chemistry.

To other reviewers who complained that this film is "derivative" or that the plot and setting are "unoriginal," I'd like to remind you that this movie was made in 1935...just how many times have these scenarios been played out before and after this particular film? As Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) said about storytelling: "There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages."

This film is highly entertaining and absolutely worth 66 minutes of your time!

A Fine 1935 Murder Mystery Film

[film_poster_fan · 8/10 · 24 November 2023]

"While The Patient Slept" is a very good comedy murder mystery film from First National Pictures. It stars Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibee, and Lyle Talbot. It is the second in the "Crime Club" series of films tied to the "Black Mask" magazine. The cast and direction are excellent and professional and the film moves at a brisk pace with the solution to the mystery a satisfactory one.

Many of the reviews take a condescending approach to this film. One does not even get the name of the studio which produced it correctly writing "I must say that "While the Patient Slept" is a very poor one--even if it was made by the premier studio of the day, MGM." Another writes "there are a ton of characters. Non of them stands out." There are more along this line, but they are barely literate.