Karloff is Back!

 

 (imdb)

THE HAUNTED STRANGLER-1958-Dr. James Rankin (Boris Karloff) investigates the case of Edward Styles, hanged as a murderer years before. He seems to feel that Styles' assistant Tenet who was later confined to an asylum might be more involved than first suspected. His wife (Elizabeth Allen) wants him to drop it. He has an assistant Dr. McCall (Tim Turner) who's in love with Rankin's daughter Lily (Diane Aubrey). Rankin and McCall find out a lot about Tenet and Rankin wants to exhume his body but superintendent Burk (Anthony Dawson) won't allow it, so Rankin digs it up himself! He finds a missing surgical knife believed to be the murder weapon which transforms him into a scary one-armed killer seeking vengeance. 

Of course, it turns out Rankin is Tenet protected by his wife who was a nurse at the asylum. After he kills her, he admits he's the murderer but no one believes him and he's committed to an asylum. He turns into Tenet and escapes. He goes on a killing spree but is eventually shot after menacing his daughter. 

Cool old style horror film directed by Robert Day with Karloff using facial expressions instead of make-up. Day and Karloff worked together on CORRIDOR OF BLOOD the same year.

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Mr. X Marks The Spot

THE MYSTERY OF MR. X-1934-A series of police killings plague London. The killer uses a sword to run his victims through. An American jewel thief Nicolas Revel (Robert Montgomery) finds one of the victims while stealing “The Breton Diamond”. The police think the killer (named Mr. X) and the diamond stealer are the same person. Revel devises a plot to try and get the police off the trail of the diamond with the help of his cockney cab driver accomplice (Forrester Harvey). The plot kind of backfires as Revel falls in love with the daughter (Elizabeth Allen) of the police superintendent (Lewis Stone) who was on to Revel anyway. It’s talky in spots but well done with a nice climax. The only dumb part is the way Revel figures out the killer’s pattern for his crimes. He figures out in a minute what the police couldn’t solve in weeks!

Director Edgar Selwyn only helmed a handful of movies (his most notable is THE SIN OF MADAME CLAUDET in 1931 for which Helen Hayes won an early Oscar). He was more successful with Broadway musicals he produced and/or wrote. He and his brother built The Selwyn theater in Times Square! Lead actress Allen was in Tod Browning’s MARK OF THE VAMPIRE the next year. For some reason Harvey is often listed as the father of the doomed Maria in James Whale’s FRANKENSTEIN though the role is played by another actor!

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