Search - The Thirteenth Guest on DVD

A real shocker

bernie | Arlington, Texas | 02/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Thirteen years later one of 13 guests returns to the Morgan mansion to the scene of a last supper of which the last guest never appeared and ended in the death of the host.

There is a big bang and a hideous scream. When the police captain Ryan, (J. Farrel MacDonald), arrives they find a creepy old dusty mansion with a new telephone and a girl (Ginger Rogers) sitting at the table. As is his habit Captain Ryan calls on his intuitive friend Phil Winston (Lyle Talbot when he was still young and hansom) to sort out the clues.

Who is the dead woman?
How did she die?
Why was she there?
What is the secret of the "Thirteenth Guest?"

The length of the movie is too short to set up the proper environment and has to move too fast to enjoy the anticipation and speculation. However it is well acted and will keep you guessing even if the audience gets more of the inside track than Phil Winston.

We get all the regular suspects and the standard gathering of suspects while Phil fills in the holes and if we are lucky may beat him to the conclusion.
"

A Whodunnit that Works Backwards

Deacon | America | 05/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, this is one of Ginger Rodgers best films ever.

Now, let's get down to the film itself. This is an example of one of those classic backwards whodunnit stories. It starts off at the end with a person walking into a house and an explosion.

Then as a police detective interviews people you have to work back to the begining to figure out what happened.

This formula was recently used in the modern film The Usual Suspects and works just as well in this older film."