Night Must Fall (1937)

A conniving but mysterious con man (Robert Montgomery) inveigles his way into the graces of a tyrant of a hypochondriac (Dame May Whitty recreating her stage role) and charms her into hiring him as a companion against the wishes of her live in niece (Rosalind Russell) who doesn't trust him. When the body of a decapitated nude woman is found in the nearby woods, Russell's suspicions become stronger. Based on the play by Emlyn Williams and directed by Richard Thorpe (IVANHOE). The play was a success in both London and New York. Thorpe and screenwriter John Van Druten don't make much of an attempt to disguise the film's theatrical roots. It plays out like a play, most of the film taking place on one set. This is one chatty thriller! One wishes that Hitchcock would swoop down and infuse some cinematic tension into it but I suppose the one set feeds the claustrophobic feel which is the film's major asset outside of the performances. Both Montgomery and Whitty were nominated for Oscars and Russell gives a strong performance, both attracted and repelled by Montgomery at the same time and in her way, complicit in his final crime. In the play, she was more complicit but the Hays office censors would have none of that in 1937. The effective score is by Edward Ward. With Alan Marshal and Kathleen Harrison.