JohnHowardReid Director: STUART WALKER. Screenplay: John L. Balderston and Gladys Unger. Adaptation: Leopold Atlas, Bradley King. Based on the unfinished 1870 novel by Charles Dickens. Photography: George Robinson. Film editor: Edward Curtiss. Music composed by Edward Ward and Clifford Vaughan, orchestrated by Clifford Vaughan. Art director: Albert S. D'Agostino. Special effects: John P. Fulton. Technical advisor: Hilda Grenier. Assistant directors: Phil Karlson, Harry Mancke. Associate producer: Edmund Grainger.Copyright 5 February 1935 by Universal Pictures Corp. Presented by Carl Laemmle. New York opening at the Rialto: 20 March 1935. 9 reels. 85 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Rains is a cathedral choirmaster and opium addict who falls in love with Angel, the fiancee of his nephew, Manners. During a raging storm on Christmas Eve he strangles Manners and dumps his body in a quicklime pit in the crypt under the cathedral. He then tries to pin the murder on Montgomery, just back from Ceylon.COMMENT: A brilliant screenplay by John L. Balderston and Gladys Unger from a fine adaptation by Leopold Atlas and Bradley King, which not only preserves the dialogue and flavor of Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, but provides it with a most satisfactory and satisfying conclusion, more than makes up for some very incompetent acting and Stuart Walker's rather stagey direction. George Robinson's photography is less brilliant than usual, but there are some magnificent sets by art director Albert S. D'Agostino.

calvinnme I just watched this one the other night again. I don't know how the entirety of "Mystery of Edwin Drood" got past the censors and the production code that was only a year old at the time. John Jasper (Claude Rains) is a choirmaster who frequents an opium den because he cannot deal with what he feels is the hypocrisy and ennui of church life. He even talks about how he envies the monks of old because at least they got to carve figures of demons as church decorations to release their dark side. The only spot of brightness in Jasper's life is Rosa Bud - folks I didn't come up with this name - who has been pledged to Jasper's nephew (David Manners as Edwin Drood) since the two were children. Yet Jasper still covets her as she becomes a young woman. Edwin and Rosa have always been friends, but seem to be approaching this marriage with all of the enthusiasm of somebody who is facing a root canal.Meanwhile, Neville and Helena Landless, a brother and sister of mixed racial heritage from Ceylon, come to town. With Nevile and Rosa it is almost love at first sight, but Neville realizes she is spoken for. Rosa and Edwin break their engagement, based on the fact that they eventually realize that their marriage was their parents' dreams, not their own. Earlier, Jasper has announced his love to Rosa in a very creepy way, and she is repulsed by his stalking. Jasper assumes that it is Edwin that is standing in his way, and that night, Christmas Eve, Edwin Drood disappears before anybody can be told of his broken engagement. What happened to Edwin Drood? That is the mystery. Watch and find out.This thing is just a huge code buster all around - that is part of its allure. Although the wrongdoers are punished in the end, the biracial love angle and the fact that there could be a hypocrite in a position of authority in the church violates the production code completely. There is also that great Universal Gothic atmosphere plus the acting is top notch. I highly recommend it.

TheLittleSongbird Claude Rains, a consistently great actor, is reason enough to see any film. And Mystery of Edwin Drood is very good, it does a noble job adapting an unfinished book and works very well on its own. It does have pacing issues and the ending is far too melodramatic. The stylised Gothic sets though are very striking and the film is filmed most handsomely and further advantaged by generous direction from Stuart Walker. The atmosphere evoked really does give off a sense of unease. The dialogue is easy to follow and is written, while the story is tense and suspenseful. The film is short for a Dickens adaptation, but the mystery is always involving and respects the book, well with what they had to work with, rather than disembowelling it. The characters are believable, especially the tortured and creepy John Jasper. Claude Rains may have given better performances, but he is still exceptional, and from Rains you wouldn't expect any less. In fact all the cast acquits themselves well, particularly Douglass Montgommery and Heather Angel. David Manners doesn't have as much to do but is also good. To conclude, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

KatharineFanatic John Jasper is a respectable choir master on the upper level, but beneath lurks a madman, an opium-addicted man of intrigue and deception with a deadly fascination for a young girl, Rosa Bud, who is engaged to his nephew, Edwin Drood. The marriage has been arranged from the crib, and neither Rosa nor Edwin (who is fondly called "Ned") are particularly fond of the idea, having resolved themselves to wed someday, simply because they must. Rosa is a young learner of music, and is fearful of her instructor -- John Jasper -- while her fiancé mere laughs off her uncertainty.However, a wrench is thrown into the works when charming foreigner Neville and his lovely sister come to town, and the former immediately falls passionately in love with Rosa. Ned is flippant of his opinion of his would-be-wife, and Jasper just barely saves his nephew from Neville's violent temper, which manifests in the foreigner nearly taking a knife to them both. Having been sent away from his hometown for just such an act (and in fact, murdering his stepfather), Neville must watch his steps, and avoid Ned and Rosa at all costs, lest his anger again surface.About this time, it is discovered that their betrothal hinges only on their personal desire to love one another, resulting in the breaking of the engagement. But Rosa and Ned decide to keep it to themselves for the present... a mistake that cannot be altered when Ned disappears, and his murder is blamed on young Neville, who was the last to see him. Jasper begins an all-out manhunt for the killer when Neville flees for his own safety, and will stop at nothing to have what he wants. In the meantime, Rosa is terrified of her music teacher, and what dangers he may impress upon her, even resorting to blackmail to gain her hand in marriage. But a mysterious stranger has come to town and is slowly unraveling the truth to "The Mystery of Edwin Drood."This screen adaptation makes up an ending to the famous Dickens novel which was never finished... leaving scholars and fans alike pondering the mystery that would never be solved... until now, The sad thing about this old "horror" picture is the fact that you can guess "whodunit" within the first twenty minutes. But gauging it against the other productions of the era, it's really quite good. The acting is first-rate, and the costuming is beautiful -- if only it were in color! The characters are all engaging, and the film has enough suspense to engage even the most action-loving viewer.