The Thirteenth Guest

The film starts off well with an intriguing concept and an eerie haunted-house setting, but quickly gets bogged down with convoluted plotting, too many characters and ultimately a very disappointing resolution. Snappy dialogue and a good performance from Lyle Talbot saves it a bit. It's also notable for the pre-Code references to two gay characters, and a surprisingly ribald joke towards the end ("well you told me to tail her!")

The mystery is okay at best but it's the obnoxious characters that really lowered my rating.

A murder mystery that plays out more like a comedy with Paul Hurst as the incompetent detective, J. Farrell MacDonald as his irritated boss and Lyle Talbot as a investigator who at first doesn't take the murders anything more then humorous. He changes attitude when it's the family members who find the murders amusing. Never an exciting murder mystery, but entertaining enough with Ginger Rogers as the pretty girl.

Intriguing mystery with some nice twists, turns and some good humor thrown in for good measure. Lyle Talbot steals the show even when pitted against Ginger Rogers. An overlooked poverty row effort.