Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

bkoganbing Miss Pinkerton has Joan Blondell cast as a nurse who is sent out on assignment to take care of bedridden Elizabeth Patterson. Her nephew and last of her once wealthy family has just killed himself and the cops headed by George Brent are on the scene. Or did he kill himself? Brent suspects murder.Since he kind of likes Blondell at first sight Brent departs from normal investigative procedure. He has Blondell not only taking care of Patterson, but he wants her to keep her eyes and ears open for anything incriminating. Despite the coroner Brent thinks murder was done.Turns out murder was done and it's done again and on this Blondell may even have had a hand. Of course it was murder and it was a rather complicated scheme where the victim was in on it but was double- crossed by accomplices. There is in fact some money still left and enough to kill for.Joan Blondell's effervescent personality and quick wit is on full blast for Miss Pinkerton. It's a somewhat lame story, but watching her covers over a lot of the faults.

JohnHowardReid Most of the action takes place in an old, Victorian style mansion which art director Jack Okey excels in recreating here. In fact, his sets are one of the film's major assets. Yet another plus is the extraordinary direction by Lloyd Bacon. In fact, all the scenes in which Elizabeth Patterson appears are handled in a most unusual – at least for Lloyd Bacon – manner, using tilted camera angles, mirror shots, close close-ups and weird lighting effects. Indeed the most stunning effect of all occurs right at the character's death. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is handled in a far less dramatic manner. Another minus is that there is no music score to help the mood. This lack also forces viewers to focus on the dialogue which seems a trifle stagey and is certainly overplayed by some of the actors, particularly John Wray. Fortunately, sound effects and McGill's fine photography help cover up some of the worst lapses.

tedg This era in filmmaking is fascinating. The evolution of the medium was in a phase of punctuation where everything was up for grabs and narrative conventions we now take for granted were formed. Watching these is like exploring the Burgess Shale, to see elements that lasted, and many that didn't.The story here nominally has a young nurse planted in a house to solve a murder. This is a typical spooky large house, with a bedridden cranky old person. Not every suspect is locked in the house, living there, but they all are presented within the building. Some of them are caught sneaking about, but are seen from a window. There are relatives, lovers, the doctor and lawyer. Newspapermen sometimes hover. The nurse is a blond who wants excitement and finds it in a romance with the detective. As this is pre-code, we are introduced to her character as she is getting ready for bed.Along the way are numerous narrative devices that are hard to even notice today. It just seems off, but that is because what we are watching for is different. One of these is Blondell getting grabbed in the dark by a menacing silhouette. She screams persistently, long enough for doors to be battered down. This happens three time. The plot is so complicated, it by three different men. There seems to be no reason for her to be grabbed so, other than to reference common fears of the women in the audience — and fantasy of the men? The solution to the mystery is revealed to a gathering of the suspects. It is more complicated than usual, so much so that it does not tie up all the ends, nor completely explain what we have seen.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

Norm-30 This is a typical "old house" film.....a black-clad figure that throws gigantic shadows on the walls, a secret entrance, all the characters "creeping around", a creepy butler, and all the rest!It's interesting that they use some of the same sets for that other fantastic "old house" film, Dr. X. (Most notably, the upstairs hall & the kitchen).Some people would say this film is "slow moving", but that is done deliberately to increase the creepy "something-is-about- to-happen" feeling.As an aside, it's remarkable that the actress who plays the sick old lady looks really OLD in this film, but in Bob Hope's "Cat & the Canary" (filmed almost 10 years later, as the Aunt) looks MUCH younger! She had one heck of a make-up job in THIS film!If you love "old house" films, don't miss it!