mukava991 "Dangerous Corner" transfers J. B. Priestley's talkathon stage whodunit (or "howdunit") to the screen with a handsome cast and slightly expanded environment (from a single large room to three different rooms and a patio). The play suggested that the little dishonesties of everyday social life are preferable to unabashed truth telling, which if unhindered would cause mayhem and suffering. The problem with the original play was that it was populated by an after- dinner gathering of undistinguished characters (partners in a publishing firm and their spouses) conversing endlessly about whether one of their colleagues stole a sum of money before committing suicide one year previously. As the individuals speculate dryly on this past event, certain revelations come to the surface that expose each one of them to the group as deeply dishonest on some level. The concept and execution are mildly interesting at best, rather like a Noel Coward drawing room play minus the wit and humor. At his best, Priestley wrote beautifully about ordinary people but was also fascinated by paranormal theories of Time. He plays with Time a bit here too, in ways I won't detail, in order to explore what might have happened had certain people kept their mouths shut. Conrad Nagel and Virginia Bruce, previously paired in "Kongo," try their best, as do Erin O'Brien Moore, Doris Lloyd, Betty Furness and others, but the results are never more than mild. Ian Keith, who plays the dead man in flashback, has the most colorful role but the production code enforcement which took effect the year this film was made cannot refer to his drug addiction, so he comes off as just wacky.

sol ****SPOILERS**** It's just a typical day at the office with Ann and Charles, Virgina Bruce & Melvyn Douglas, horsing around with each other as the guy running the place, a big time New York publishing firm, Robert, Conrad Nagel, is hard at work in his business of getting clients with interesting and money making manuscripts to have him put their work on the market. It also happens to be Robert and his wife Frida's, Erin O'Brien-Moore, fifth wedding anniversary and the absent minded Robert, in him being reminded by Charles, had forgot to buy Fridaa a wedding present. What soon spoils everything is that one of the firm's client a Mr. McIntyre who's on a sea cruse sends a telegram wanting his payment for a book he's to have published. Looking for the US Government Bond locked in the company safe that to be McIntyre's fee it's found to be missing! This sets off a panic between those responsible for keeping McIntyre's money in a safe place with among the four who have the key to the safe Charles Robert Godon,Henry Wodsworth, and Martin, Ian Keith, it's Martin who's not accounted for at the office. When Martin is finally tracked down, by phone, at his country getaway he has no idea where Mr. McIntyre's bond is. With Charles driving over to Martin's place to see if he's holding something back from him Robert & Gordon he's found lying on the floor shot to death with a bullet in his chest!It's now a year later with Martin's death ruled a suicide by a court of inquiry everyone who was around on that fateful day including Gordon's 18 year old wife Betty, Betty Furness, get together for a nighttime tea party to talk over events of the day. It's when Gordon turns on the radio,the Victrola was on the brink, to have some music to listen too and sooth everyones nerves that things take a turn for the worse. The radio suddenly conks out and Gordon can't find a tube to replace the burned out one. With no music to relax and dance too all the people at the party start to run off their mouths about the only person not there Martin and what they did on the day of his death one year ago when he killed himself! And it's that loose talk that brings out the real truth of Martin's death that everyone at the party had kept hidden from both the court of inquiry as well as themselves!****SPOILERS**** The film "Dangerous Corner" brings out how people when not occupied with the trivial things in life can really put their minds to work and come up with thought-provoking ides and insights in their lives and the lives of others! Martin was dead and buried for a year with no one wanting to go beyond the fact that he killed himself when it was about to be discovered that he stole McIntyre's Bond. As the truth started coming out among those at the party the truth was far more different then what was publicly known about the dead Martin. And that truth would have never came to see the light of day, even though the events took place at night, if Gordon somehow found a new tube for the radio to keep the music playing and keep his as well as everyone else at the party occupied with it! *****MAJOR SPOILER**** It's then when you think that it's all over with the films sad and depressing ending you unexpectedly find out that there's another side to it! And then like radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say "Now here's the rest of the Story".

GManfred That's the start of a song from HMS Pinafore, and this picture goes on to prove just that. "Dangerous Corner" is a filmed stage play and is a fascinating character study of a group of people with skeletons cascading out of their respective closets. On the surface, it seems one of their number has committed suicide over some embezzled funds. Please note that 'on the surface' is the operative term in this engrossing film.All concerned turn in good performances and the dialogue ranges from clichéd to the profound to the philosophic, and you can't leave the room or else you'll lose the thread of the story - remember, it's only 65 minutes long and with a lot of plot squeezed in.This is a timeless parable about human frailty and appetites and layered relationships. Nevertheless, it becomes all the more interesting to consider that it was made in 1934. They think like us, exhibit our own doubts and weaknesses but all are in evening clothes and smoke and drink at all hours, all of which gives the proceedings a surreal feel, that we are eavesdropping on a living museum scene. You think of how alien such a lifestyle seems today."Dangerous Corner" turned up on TCM the other morning and is not available in any format. If it comes on again, you should do yourself a favor and watch it.

Norm-30 This is an intriquing mystery of a bond theft and a suicide (?) that is discussed by a group of people (connected with both) over dinner. There are sooo many flashbacks and plot twists/changes, that it becomes quite confusing as to "what's what"! The ending leaves you with a feeling of "that's IT?!?!",& I'd recommend that you see it SEVERAL times before everything "sinks in"!