The Crime Of The Century (1933)

A hypnotist (Jean Hersholt) bursts into a police station and confesses to a murder. The only problem is that the murder he's confessed to hasn't happened yet. However, it's not long before dead bodies and stolen money turn up. A wisecracking reporter (Stuart Erwin) tries to unravel the mystery on his own. Based on the play THE GROOTMAN CASE by Walter Maria Espe and directed by William Beaudine (JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER). This fast moving B murder mystery is entertaining enough and the revelation of the murderer is a genuine surprise. I wish the reporter were played by a more charismatic actor than the bland Stuart Erwin. Presaging the William Castle gimmicks of the 1960s, in the film's last twenty minutes the movie stops while an onscreen messenger says they have given us a one minute break to solve the killer's identity while images of the suspects play on the screen. With Frances Dee, Wynne Gibson, Gordon Westcott, Robert Elliott, Samuel S. Hinds and Bodil Rosing.