Watch A Scream in the Night For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Thanks for the memories!

Best movie of this year hands down!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

in the late 1950's***SOILERS*** Lon Cheney Jr. is both the scuzzy unkempt and petty crook Butch Curtin as well as the handsome well dressed & spoken private investigator Jack Wilson here as he tries to recover the stolen Tear of Buddha emerald in some un-named country that's seems to be situated between China & India.. The emerald was stolen from American diamond dealer Joe Bentelt, John Ince, after he was almost strangled by Johnny Fly, Manuel Lopez, who's been after it for years. Being a dead ringer for Butch Curtain who's Fly's assistant Jack Wilson after having Curtain arrested and put on ice takes over his identity in an effort to get Johhny to reveal where the emerald is hidden.Not much of a movie in that it was so bad that it's studio, Astor Studios, kept it on the shelf for eight years only to release it in 1943 when Cheney was by then an established star and feeling some movie goers and Cheney fans will be interested in seeing it just for that reason alone. The film limps alone until the final scene where we have Wilson as Butch Curtain have it out with Johnny Fly. That's after his cover was blown by Johnny's jealous girlfriend Mora, Zarah Tazil, who felt he was to leave her for another woman. This was when Mora in a jealous fit went after the other woman the kidnapped Edith Bentley, John Bentley's daughter, played by Shelia Terry. It was Shelia who Mora felt had stolen Johnny Fly away from her which led to a wild cat fight between the two at the end of the film.As for Lon Cheney's Jr. it wasn't until some four years later in 1939 when he played the part of the tragic and simple minded Lenny in "Mice and Men" that he made him a star. And it could have been the reason that no one saw "A Scream in the night" and how awful it was that made it very possible for Cheney to have gotten that part. and from there he went to bigger and better roles like "The Wolf Man" and "Son of Dracula" as well as the unforgettable Butcher Benton in the bad movie classic "Indistructable Man" before his movie career fizzled out.

A detective is on the pursuit of a jewel thief somewhere in the Far East. This very short movie moves at a snail's pace and in truth does not provide very much entertainment. Lon Chaney plays two separate roles here, as the aforementioned detective and a drunken thug. In all honesty, neither character is terribly interesting. Neither is the plot-line either. It's all very lethargic and poorly presented. It was obviously shot on a low budget but that's not really much of an excuse for something so tedious. The title of the movie is entirely meaningless too - I guess it was designed to make it sound like a horror film, and the Chaney name would help sell it. But there are no thrills in this one sadly. The star of the show was probably the lippy parrot that lived in the bar. That of course is strictly faint praise.

Scream in the Night (1935) * (out of 4) Detective Jack Wilson (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is after a jewel thief in a small seaport. This was the first film where Chaney went by the name "Lon" and it's apparent he did so here to cash in on his father's memory and name. The film has a title at the start to let us know Lon Chaney, Jr. is the "star" and he's playing two roles, something his father did several times. Chaney offers up two very different roles with different results. He's actually pretty good as the detective but his scenes as the drunk are over the top and silly. As far as the film goes, it's pretty bad from start to finish. I normally get some sort of enjoyment out of these "B" mysteries but this one here is just downright awful with a bad story, weak supporting characters and horrible direction. This is without question one of the weakest mysteries I've seen. What's so shocking is that the movie runs under a hour yet it feels like three.

The plot concerns the Tear of Buddha ruby which the villain wants to get and the owner and his niece want to keep. Low budget independent film thats more than a tad creaky owing to it production rather than its story which does move along at a good clip. Certainly not a great film but it is one that over comes its limitations for a decent way to spend an hour.Lon Chaney Jr has two roles as detective searching for a criminal mastermind and as the masterminds henchmen. Its good to see him in what would be an atypical role as a romantic leading man. Clearly the two roles was an effort to cash in on his fathers name and while its not one of the tortured roles he was well known for later in his career, he does acquit himself nicely.Worth a look especially for Lon Chaney Jr fans.