JohnHowardReid Copyright 15 September 1934 by Monogram Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 20 August 1934. U.K. release: 23 March 1935. Australian release: 17 July 1935. 7 reels. 62 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A guest steals a valuable jewel from the daughter of the house. Inspector (sic) Cuff nails the culprit.NOTES: Despite the novel's enormous popularity, The Moonstone has only been filmed twice, firstly in 1915 and then on Poverty Row in 1934. Although Sergeant Cuff was eliminated from the silent version, the popular Eugene O'Brien made a dashing Franklin Blake, whilst the lovely Elaine Hammerstein was equally delightful as the heroine. An expensive production, this Moonstone was often inventively directed by Frank H. Crane.Like his other famous mystery thriller, The Woman in White (1860), The Moonstone was not only based on real people and actual events, but no attempts were made to disguise these facts. Contemporary readers were well aware that Sergeant Cuff was the well-known Scotland Yard inspector, Jonathan Whicher, and that dull- witted Superintendent Seegrave was actually an Inspector Foley. Both novels are cleverly built up from complex plots that encompass many cliff-hanging thrills before being finally resolved into satisfying, high-tension climaxes. COMMENT: Just about what you might expect from a Monogram interpretation. A great novel is here reduced in size and stature until its bare bones are scarcely recognizable. The setting has been updated, the plot grossly over-simplified and its unique characters transformed into the formula creations of Hollywood-land. With two or three exceptions, all the players stand around, declaiming their lines to an invisible gallery. Bunston, Barry and Thomas are the worst offenders. Although he doesn't the least resemble the novel's Cuff, Charles Irwin registers fairly well; whilst David Manners proves his usual mildly personable self; but it is Evelyn Bostock who makes off with the picture's acting honors, such as they are. Stiff direction and impoverished production values don't help, though ace photographer Robert Planck has managed a few welcome atmospheric effects, despite being forced to shoot in obvious haste.OTHER VIEWS: The credit titles, suitably framed within the borders of the novel, promise much, but the picture delivers disappointingly little. Good players are worn down by tepidly repetitious dialogue and an even more feeble plot. After a few initial sparks of inventiveness, the direction dies too. — G.A.

bkoganbing Considering that Monogram Pictures had a rather huge novel according to some of the other reviewers to work with, the fact that they cut it down to a 62 minute programmer, 46 minutes in the version I've seen, they came up with a coherent version of The Moonstone. The problem was that at least here the suspense seems to have been drained from it.David Manners and Phyllis Barry head the cast, he as sweetheart and solicitor and custodian of The Moonstone, she as the recipient of both Manners affections and the jewel. A cast of usual suspects supports them, but if you can't figure out who the culprit might be on this dark and stormy night, you don't even need to have seen too many of them.There is an interesting gimmick in the story involving one of the leads, but I won't go further lest you want to see the film. Still it might have been done better by a major studio.

classicsoncall If you've seen enough of these Poverty Row programmers from the 1930's, you'll recognize that they pretty much adopt a tried and true formula depending on the genre. The dark and stormy night atmospherics will often accompany a murder mystery, or as in this case, the disappearance of the valuable Herncastle Moonstone Diamond. So then you'll have to keep an eye out for the minor bit of originality that might creep in to distinguish it from the rest. What I found interesting in this flick was that bit of misdirection with the old lights out trick when the moonstone vanished for the first time and it turned out that the housekeeper grabbed it for safekeeping. Couldn't figure out why she was crawling under a table though when the lights came back on. Anyone?"The Moonstone" winds up being a fairly typical mystery which, as others on this board have mentioned, is solved rather hastily if not haphazardly using a sleepwalk gimmick masterminded by the exposed villain. As is often the case, the suspects with a real criminal past are thrown in as red herrings and get enough screen time to merit observation. There was also an interesting tidbit thrown in about the jewel having been stolen many years ago from an Indian temple, with true believers dedicated to returning it to it's former home. I guess that's why Yandoo was there; I thought he would have a larger role in the story, but that wasn't the case.I'll say this though, for a valuable diamond, Ann Verinder (Phyllis Barry) was awfully nonchalant about it. With a safe on the premises and warnings to safeguard it from most everyone around her, you would think she would find a better place to put it than under her pillow. But then I guess, you wouldn't have a story.

Michael O'Keefe In spite of a short 45 minute run time I really enjoyed THE MOONSTONE based on the book by Wilkie Collins. Reginald Baker directs a tight knit collection of performers in this mystery that takes place in a crowded house during a rain storm. Anne Verinder(Phyllis Barry)inherits a priceless gem the Moonstone necklace. Her fiancée Franklin Blake(David Manners)is bringing the precious diamond to England from India. He arrives at the Verinder's countryside home and finds a house full of guests that includes a notorious money lender Carl Von Lucker(Gustav Von Seyffertitz). While everyone is assembled the storm causes the lights to go out and the necklace is snatched from Anne's neck. It was grabbed by a maid for "safe keeping". Anne puts the stone under her pillow and when she awakes the necklace is gone. Scotland Yard Inspector Cuff(Charles Irwin)is to figure out which one of the guests is a jewel thief. The loud rain storm provides great atmosphere. Also in the cast are: Herbert Bunston, Evalyn Bostock, John Davidson and Jameson Thomas.