Lumsdal
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
bkoganbing
This B film from Monogram looks like it was butchered in the editing which was
typical for the poverty row studios. But reading between the lines you'll find a
decent plot and the kind of method of homicide usually reserved for authors like
Arthur Conan Doyle.The District Attorney falls over dead attending a prize fight and first it's thought
to be heart failure. Before attending the fight he made a radio speech saying
that he was about to bring in an indictment, The 13th Man he's brought to
trial for racketeering and he gives some possibilities in the speech.It's not natural causes of course that kills the DA and Walter Winchell like
columnist Weldon Heyburn and his leg man Milburn Stone are on the trail.
Stone makes a fatal discovery for him and it gets real personal for Heyburn
after that.Some familiar character players will be seen. Best of all is Dewey Robinson
who usually played good natured mugs. He's a former prizefighter who due
to a ring accident has been left with a lilting tenor and now has a new career
in radio. Hearing him sing Will You Remember Me with the dubbed tenor is
funny stuff.Worth seeing the film for.
JohnHowardReid
At the close of the silent period, William Nigh was one of Hollywood's top directors. I know that's hard to believe, but when you've seen one of his big-budget Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movies like Across to Singapore, you will appreciate that Nigh was a director who really knew his stuff. Unfortunately, he had the bad luck to be assigned to Lord Byron of Broadway, a big-budget movie with a poor script and stars that lacked drawing power when Wall Street laid an egg and movie audiences suddenly became very, very particular on how they would spend their limited cash. So, literally overnight, M-G-M gave Nigh the brush and he found himself in Poverty Row were he carved out a new career for himself as a director who could direct a "B" movie on time and on budget. The Thirteenth Man is one of his more interesting movies, even though the plot fails to play square. Fortunately, most audiences won't notice this double cross because Nigh directs at a fast pace and gets realistic performances from his players. However, I did think Selmer Jackson's efforts were too realistic and that he missed a grand opportunity here to demonstrate that he had real ability and was wasted in support roles like this one.
artpf
A tough district attorney has been cleaning up the town, and has already imprisoned twelve dangerous criminals. As he is about to name the target for his next investigation, he is murdered in the midst of a crowd. The police have many suspects and hardly any clues, so two reporters decide to investigate for themselves.It's an OK movie but the public domain prints are pretty bad quality.Not bad for a Saturday afternoon. Sort of mindless. Too bad the prints aren't better. Never really understand that. Guess the original negative are long gone and only bad dupes are available.
Snow Leopard
"The Thirteenth Man" is a reasonable B-Mystery with a decent plot and enough suspense to keep your attention most of the time. The cast and characters are mostly routine, but Weldon Heyburn does bring some life to the lead role.The story starts when a tough D.A., who has recently put away 12 of the town's most notorious criminals, announces that he will soon target his 13th man. Before he can do so, he is murdered, and two reporters (Heyburn and Milburn Stone, later of "Gunsmoke") decide to investigate, although there are many possible suspects and few clues. While the production itself is strictly low-budget, the murder mystery plot is not bad, without any big holes, and it keeps you guessing to the end.Overall, while nothing spectacular, this is probably better than average for a B-Mystery.
