Tag: Dudley Digges

The Invisible Man (1933)

The Invisible Man (1933). 70 minutes. Directed by James Whale. Starring Gloria Stuart (as Flora Cranley), Claude Rains (as Dr. Jack Griffin), William Harrigan (as Dr. Arthur Kemp), Henry Travers (as Dr. Cranley), Una O’Connor (as Jenny Hall), Forrester Harvey (as Herbert Hall), Dudley Digges (as Chief of Detectives), Harry Stubbs (as Inspector Bird), E. E. Clive (as Police Constable Jaffers), Dwight Frye (as reporter), and Merle Tottenham (as Millie). Cinematography by Arthur Edeson. Special effects by John P. Fulton. Based on the novel by H. G. Wells.

H. G. Wells was in general not a fan of adaptations of his novels, but in 1935 he gave an interview with Pearl Katzman in Screenland magazine that indicated there was a soft spot in his heart for the 1933 film version of his novel The Invisible Man. Compared to Island of Lost Souls (1932), an adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau that Wells utterly loathed, the film of The … Read the rest

The Maltese Falcon (Three Versions, 1931-1941)

The following article is a review of three film adaptations of Dashiell Hammett’s novel The Maltese Falcon: the pre-Code Maltese Falcon (1931), the bizarre comedic Satan Met a Lady (1936), and the superb film noir version (1941).

Synopsis: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)

Sam Spade is a private detective working in San Francisco. A woman identifying herself as Miss Wonderly appears in his office one day and asks for his help: she claims her sister is visiting the city in the company of a disagreeable man, and Wonderly wants the two separated. Spade’s partner Miles Archer takes over the case and agrees to shadow the man, Thursby, but that evening both Miles and Thursby are shot dead.

The next day, Spade meets up with Wonderly, who explains that she and Thursby were involved in a plot to capture an illusory, legendary, jewel-studded falcon statuette that has been smuggled around the world by treasure hunters through the ages. … Read the rest