Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58463 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-09-09
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 66 minutes

Customer Reviews

Early Ginger Rogers in Mystery Spoof now on DVD!
Ginger Rogers is really cute in this Murder Mystery Spoof.

This Standard Format Black/White 67 minute movie is a good quality DVD transfer.

Summary: Live in Undercover newspaper reporter Pat Morgan (Ginger Rogers) is acting as a millionaire mob bosses secretary. She is trying to discover his involvement in the crime syndicate. "A Shriek in the Night" awakens the entire apartment building. The crime boss has fallen mysteriosly from his Penthouse balcony to his death. Other deaths soon follow and Pat is in the middle of it all holding key clues to who the murderer is.

This is a fun light mystery drama with a very cute Ginger Rogers playing the intelligent aggressive newswoman. Enjoy.

Fun for fans of B-movie mysteries
Alpha Video currently offers two B-movie mysteries that both feature early starring roles for Ginger Rogers: THE THIRTEENTH GUEST (1932) and A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT (1933). GUEST is marginally better than SHRIEK, although the print of GUEST used for Alpha's DVD transfer is definitely inferior (the picture quality has a dupey, washed-out, milky look to it).

By contrast, Alpha's copy of A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT is pretty sharp (an original print, not a dupe) and the print is in very good shape. Fans of these kind of B-grade mysteries will enjoy watching Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot as rival reporters who try to solve a series of baffling murders. This is a typical 1930s "Poverty Row" production (i.e., a low-budget, independent studio release), so don't expect the kind of glossy production values you'd find in an MGM or Warner Brothers film. Nevertheless, sometimes these inexpensive little mysteries offer just as much entertainment value as their higher-bracketed counterparts. A SHRIEK IN THE NIGHT is proof of this, with Rogers, Talbot, and the rest of the cast giving lively performances that more than compensate for the budgetary limitations.

Fun 1930's "B" Mystery Starring Ginger
This fun to watch "B" mystery is great for a rainy night. Frances Hyland's screenplay based on a story by Kurt Kempler is typical of minor formula mysteries of the early 1930's but a young Ginger Rogers and Lyle Talbot give this Allied Pictures offering just enough zip and nostalgia to make it a nice one for "B" movie fans to own.

The story starts off with a bang as a man named Harker falls to his death from his own apartment complex. Reporter Lyle Talbot is on the scene trying to get a scoop on the hot news story but Ginger, cute as can be, may have the inside track. She has been posing as Harker's secretary for a rival paper in order to explore his ties to an underworld boss. The cops question everyone but the most fun is derived from Ginger and Talbot trying to get the scoop. There is some fun byplay between the two when they inevitably fall for each other.

A serpant card given the victim and a second murder add some spice to the mystery. Someone may have to save Ginger from the murderer near the end and who does so will come as a surprise. While certainly no mastepiece, as these little early "B" mysteries go, this one is entertaining for buffs. Ginger's fans will love this look at her just as she was on her way to a career capped by an Oscar for Kitty Foyle.