Watch The Thirteenth Guest For Free

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Captivating movie !

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Here, Talbot plays a private investigator, whose help is begged by the coppers, but who is less likable: patronizing, arrogant, naughty, dismissive, conceited, puffed up, full of himself, spoiled, condescending. His cheap laughing at the cretin copper's goofs makes him seem not very clever.The plot resembles that of a later movie by the same director, with the same leads: the killer uses modern technology to murder his victims, and the damsel is caught by him. Otherwise, here's an old house, with secret chambers, there was a penthouse and a modern building. Anyway, the later movie is better, and the actress has a better role, too.Here, the storyline has been loaded with the cretin copper's gags.Another '30s show which declines the whodunit; its pompous killer reminds the psychopath from a Strayer comedy. It's like we are shown samples from the novel's storyline. The plot has been mishandled, though Arm. Trail has been convoked, and Albert Ray's ease proves useful.The girl in the 1st scene was the daughter (because she remembers the banquet), she wasn't her impersonator, why does the taxi driver take off, what was the noise heard by the taxi driver? Who was the 3rd victim, the one murdered during the suspects' imprisonment, and whom the killer didn't arrange at the table? How did the investigator know about the missive, what did the numbers mean, why shouldn't the daughter divulge them? The ruse with the testament is admired by the investigator, but it's both insane and irresponsible. It exposes the daughter to infinite dangers, to teach her a lesson. The true inheritance was a life lesson. She didn't really learn it, as the last scene shows her in the investigator's arms.

minor spoiler Ginger Rogers in one of her VERY early roles. She hadn't yet turned into the shrew that tormented Fred Astaire in all their dance films. Sound and picture quality are pretty rough, but as we see from the TRIVIA section, as it is now in public domain, anyone can make a (crappy) copy and sell it for profit. She arrives at a dark, dirty house, late at night, and finds an envelope marked "to be opened on Marie's 21st birthday". A shot rings out, and her taxi driver goes for the cops. The adventure begins. They bring in investigator Phil Winston (Lyle Talbot, in one of HIS early roles. ) We hear the history of the family and the house from the local policeman. I thought it was odd that even though they found the dead chick sitting in a chair, they knew right off that she had been electrocuted, in spite of the fact that the doctor says "enough to kill her but not enough to leave any marks." I would have thought that an autopsy would have necessary to find that... but I'm not a physician. The whole story revolves around a dinner party where they invited thirteen guests, but the thirteenth guest never showed up. Along the way, another girl shows up and looks JUST like the first girl found d-e-d dead. Not a bad film, but some things move pretty slowly. It's a Monogram shortie, at 69 minutes. Not bad who-dunnit, but a few cracks in the woodwork, so don't take it too seriously. And being pre-code, there are a couple naughty references in here if you pay attention.Directed by Albert Ray, a prolific actor, director, writer, who had started in silents, and moved into talkies. He died quite young at 46, but I haven't been able to find the cause of death.

Monogram Pictures was a very low-budget studio that specialized in cheap and exciting films. They were NOT a studio to make operettas or Shakespeare--that's for sure. Some of there films hold up well after all of these years--many of them don't. I have not yet seen a Monogram film I would consider great but they were often quite fun. Fun, cheap and entertaining is how I would describe "The Thirteenth Guest". While the film has many plot holes and problems, the overall film is pretty good for a B-movie. The film is one of those ridiculously impossible and complex murder films that is fun to watch but dumb when you actually think about it. Only in this sort of film or a Charlie Chan film (many of which were also made by Monogram) film would do.The film begins with a lady being horribly electrocuted by some maniac--though who did it is uncertain. Oddly, instead of the police heading the investigation, they ask a private detective (Lyle Talbot) to run things--a plot element that makes not one bit of sense. Eventually, Talbot and the police learn that the murder (and subsequent murders) are probably related to a weird dinner that had happened many years earlier. The man who threw the dinner party was very rich and he died during the dinner! His will incredibly stated that the thirteenth guest to arrive would inherit his fortunate--but only twelve show. His wife was odd, as she left the house and the room where the rich guy died exactly as it was during the party--and the killer would then prop the bodies of each victim in their original seats from the party!! Weird stuff alright and the killer turns out to be the one who looked like a killer the first time I saw them! Make of that what you will.A nice fast-paced plot with some cool murders cannot completely undo the ridiculousness of it all as well as some plot problems. Other than having a private citizen lead the investigation, there is a plastic surgery angle that makes no sense as well as some overly obnoxious suspects--too obnoxious to be real. Worth watching (especially since it's in the public domain) but not one to rush out to see--unless you are dying to see Ginger Rogers in one of her earliest roles (though, unfortunately, her acting and character are both a bit rough).

Lovely young Ginger Rogers arrives at her long ago abandoned family manor on her twenty-first birthday to meet her lawyer so that she can find out about her inheritance. She finds out about foul play and murder instead! Obviously, someone in her family is trying to do away with her. But just who's trying to do it? Everyone is a suspect, including Rogers herself. Lyle Talbot is the private investigator who rounds up the entire family and tries to sort things out. J. Farrell MacDonald is the police sergeant who is confounded by it all. Paul Hurst is his nitwit sidekick. Everyone has some good lines and often the comebacks are hilarious. There's a part near the end of the film where Hurst's shoes are on the wrong feet, which is an absolute howl if you understand the reason why. Nice, creepy looking house is the perfect setting for pretty Rogers to be menaced in. There's plenty of cobwebs to contrast with Miss Rogers' who looks very cute in her costumes. Low-budget, but doesn't really seem to be because one gets involved in the puzzling mystery. You may have to see "The Thirteenth Guest" twice to fully understand it. It is a very intricate murder mystery which ultimately does make sense.