Product Details

• Actors: Charley Grapewin, Lucien Littlefield, Mary Carlisle, Regis Toomey, Arthur Hohl
• Directors: Christy Cabanne
• Writers: Stuart Palmer, Wellyn Totman
• Producers: George Yohalem, Nat Levine
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Alpha Video
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003
• Run Time: 66 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000AGWK2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,498 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "One Frightened Night" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Synopsis:
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: NR
Street Date: 04/27/04
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old Dark House Style Thriller, November 23, 2004

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: One Frightened Night (DVD)

One Frightened Night cannot hope to aim for the heights set by the more well known "Old Dark House" but for a cheapie released by "Mascot Pictures" it's not too bad.

An eccentric millionaire Jasper Whyte, unable to locate his only granddaughter, decides to divide his estate among a group of people less close to him: his niece and nephew, his attorney, his doctor, and his housekeeper. But complications and murder arise when two different women turn up, claiming to be the granddaughter.

Typical "reading of the will" type fare. The crotchety Jasper surprises his relations by promising them all $1,000,000, barring the return of wayward granddaughter Doris Waverly before midnight-- but come the witching hour, Jasper finds he must choose between two young women claiming to be the grown up Doris.

The movie does have a bit of that poverty row look to it but still rises above most others in the genre with some great atmosphere and strong performances. Among the co-stars are Wallace Ford, who would later co-star in two of Universal's Mummy movies As Babe Jensen and Hedda Hopper who would become Hollywood's leading gossip columnist.

Quite a well-done murder/Old Dark House Mystery. Surprisingly good!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun "B" Mystery, June 20, 2006

By 

Bobby Underwood "starlighthotel" (Manly NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Frightened Night (DVD)

This little "B" gem from Mascot Pictures, one of the "Poverty Row" studios who specialized in low-budget fillers for double-bills, is quite entertaining. While the storyline sounds familiar the execution is done with humor and flair, and an excellent cast.

It all begins on a dark, stormy night as Jasper Whyte (Charley Grapewin) reveals to his servants and relatives that he is giving them each one million dollars. Since his long-missing granddaughter, Doris Waverly, is the only one who could throw a monkey-wrench into the plan, their inheritance seems assured.

But Doris shows up, of course, in the form of Evalyn Knapp. As the old man dotes on her, grateful for her sweet return, the rest of the household fumes. Things take a u-turn when a second Doris Waverly (Mary Carlisle), an actress not nearly as passive as the first, appears right on her heels.

Before the first Doris can be exposed as an imposter, she is murdered and we have ourselves an old dark house murder mystery. Sheriff Jenks (Fred Kelsey) isn't that much help when he shows, nor is Doris' pal from the stage, the "Great Luvalle (Wallace Ford). Tom Dean (Regis Toomey), the easygoing and fun-loving member of the clan, takes a real shine to the second Doris (Mary Carlisle) and decides to do a little detecting.

An attempt on Doris' life by poison blowdart adds to the fun in this easy to like "B" mystery. This is great entertainment for late at night when you can't sleep. Famous gossip columnist Hedda Hopper plays the part of Laura Proctor in this one, for a little added nostagia.

Many of these "B" films are just slow-moving imitations of the real thing, but this one has some snappy dialog and a fun atmosphere to recommend it, not to mention a fine cast. A good rainy night time killer.

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder, Mayhem, and Mirth in a Spooky Old Mansion, May 21, 2011

By 

Tee (LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Frightened Night (DVD)

ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT has to be one of the ten best films made at a "poverty row" studio during the 1930's. To fill up the public's insatiable need for movies back in the 1930's, not only did the major studios grind out hundreds of pictures a year but several small studios were also cranking out films by the score, albeit with their low-budgets and generally no-name casts and background talent, the films were far less entertaining or memorable. One of the very best films made on this bread-and-butter circuit however is ONE FRIGHTENED NIGHT, an excellent mystery with more than a little comedy in the CAT AND THE CANARY tradition of spooky goings on in an "old dark house" to quote the title of another film of the genre. There are no big names in the film but it is loaded with familiar faces fans of films from the era will recognize who often played secondary roles in films at the major studios.

Charley Grapewin stars as an ailing, elderly multi-millionaire who rather loathes his lot of hanging-on relatives and associates but has no one else to leave his money to, his estranged daughter now deceased and the whereabouts of his only grandchild long unknown. Grapewin decides to give five of the group $1 million each before his death given the upcoming new estate tax laws will eat up much of their inheritence. The leeches are thrilled with the news but the ill-humored Charley bluntly tells them if he knew where his granddaughter was they wouldn't be getting a dime and she would get it all. And who should happen to show up later that evening but Doris, the granddaughter!! The former heirs are devastated by her appearance as she and grandpa sneak off to get better acquainted. Before the night is over ANOTHER woman claiming to be the granddaughter shows up - moments after the first one has been murdered.

The cast is excellent and the atomsphere very good in this creepy old mansion thriller. Starring as the two Dorises are lovely Mary Carlisle, a well-known starlet of the era and in 2011 still around at age 99, one of the few survivors of American films from the 1930's, and the equally beautiful Evalyn Knapp, who wasn't quite as known but appeared in many B pictures including films with John Wayne and starring in the talkie remake of the serial THE PERILS OF PAULINE. Other familiar faces in the cast include Hedda Hopper, Lucien Littlefield, and Charles Wilson. The best performances are given by the underrated character actress Rafaela Ottiano (SHE DONE HIM WRONG, CURLY TOP) as the cold, rather sinister maid and especially the wonderful comic actor Wallace Ford (billed "Wally Ford" here) as Mary's vaudeville partner, a smart-aleck magician. Given this film from a studio out of business for many decades and long in public domain, it's not surprising the print quality is less than great but it's wonderful that it survives at all given it's one of the best "B" movies of it's era.