Barbara Everest Movies

In this murder mystery, a detective investigates the death of a prominent millionaire and finds that the dead man's family jewels are missing. Later the detective proves that the purloiner of the precious stones is none other than the millionaire's own lawyer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In Belloc-Lowndes' original novel The Lodger, the reclusive young man suspected of being Jack the Ripper turns out to be exactly who he's assumed to be. When Alfred Hitchcock directed the 1926 film version of The Lodger, he was advised that the public would never accept the popular star Ivor Novello as a serial killer, thus the film was given a happy ending. Novello himself wrote the screenplay for the 1932 non-Hitchcock talkie version of The Lodger, which, though updated from the novel's 19th century setting, retains its original shocker climax. Well received at the time of its release but rarely seen in recent years, the 1932 Lodger can be regarded as a serviceable bridge between the 1926 Hitchcock silent and the definitive 1944 20th Century-Fox remake starring Laird Cregar. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Corinne Griffith, the stunningly attractive "orchid lady" of the silent screen, originally intended to retire when talkies came in. The wisdom of this decision was demonstrated in her handful of sound-picture appearances, of which Lily Christine is among the least memorable. While driving along in her touring car, Lily Christine (Griffith) breaks her glasses. Since her travelling companion Rupert Harvey (Colin Clive) can't drive at all, he and Lily are forced to spend the evening at Harvey's home. It's all quite innocent, but Harvey's wife Muriel (Anne Grey) suspects that her husband and Lily have been canoodling around, an opinion also held by Lily's own husband Ivor (Jack Trevor), an inveterate philanderer who has been looking for an excuse to divorce his wife. Disgraced in the eyes of the world, Lily attempts to kill herself, but there's a happy ending in the offing for herself and Harvey -- who, as it turns out, has loved her all along. Lily Christine was based on a considerably racier novel by Michael Arlen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This heavy-handed, English-made drama (adapted from the novel by E.E. Mills Young) depended far too much on its title cards to advance the plot. Pamela and Herbert Arnott (Ivy Duke and Julian Royce) have been happily married for six years. Then it turns out that they aren't really married at all -- Arnott is still wed to his first wife, who refused to give him a divorce. Although he tells Pamela that she is the only woman he has ever loved, she refuses to forgive him and only stays for the children's sake. The couple's relationship becomes so strained that Arnott begins a flirtation with the governess and when he disappears, Pamela assumes that the two of them have run off together. But George Dare, an admirer of Pamela's (Guy Newall, who also directed), finds out that Arnott has fallen seriously ill and is in the hospital. Since she has discovered that his first wife has died, Pamela goes to him, and they get legally married at last. Dare, who has lost Pamela by revealing the whereabouts of Arnott, moves on. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide