/wAMYz7LyeBTodIOnpsGPzcKbxlR.jpg
MysteryThrillerHorror

The Unknown

- Will Tonight Bring Her...LOVE or DEATH?

"The Unknown" was the final entry in Columbia’s I Love A Mystery series. A woman hires two detectives to keep her alive long enough to claim her inheritance.

Release Date : 1946-07-04

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Columbia Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Karen Morley

Character Name : Rachel Martin

Original Name : Karen Morley

Gender : Female

Jim Bannon

Character Name : Jack Packard

Original Name : Jim Bannon

Gender : Male

Jeff Donnell

Character Name : Nina Arnold

Original Name : Jeff Donnell

Gender : Female

Mark Roberts

Character Name : Reed Cawthorne (as Robert Scott)

Original Name : Mark Roberts

Gender : Male

Robert Wilcox

Character Name : Richard Arnold

Original Name : Robert Wilcox

Gender : Male

Barton Yarborough

Character Name : Doc Long

Original Name : Barton Yarborough

Gender : Male

James Bell

Character Name : Edward Martin

Original Name : James Bell

Gender : Male

Wilton Graff

Character Name : Ralph Martin

Original Name : Wilton Graff

Gender : Male

Helen Freeman

Character Name : Phoebe Martin

Original Name : Helen Freeman

Gender : Female

Robert Kellard

Character Name : James Wetherford (as Robert Stevens)

Original Name : Robert Kellard

Gender : Male

Reviews

J

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

My poor poor baby. The Unknown is directed by Henry Levin and adapted to screenplay by Charles O'Neal and Dwight Babcock from the radio play written by Malcolm Boylan and Julian Harmon. It stars Karen Morley, Jim Bannon and Jeff Donnell. Music is by Alexander Steinert and cinematography by Henry Freulich. A wonderfully good old fashioned spooky house mystery finds a group of relatives arrive at a big mansion estate for the reading of a will. Pretty soon strange occurrences and accidents are the order of the night. Clocking in at just seventy minutes in run time, Levin's picture doesn't have time to bore or bother with pointless filler. Standard creepy house rules apply here, shadows dominate the visuals (Freulich's photography excellent), which accentuate uneasy atmosphere as characters trawl through secret passageways, barely lit corridors, the ominous staircase and even a mausoleum that sits next to the house. The sound mix is important because you have to have creaks and groans, and the unnerving cry of a child in the night, all is spot on there. While the characters are a ripe blend of eccentrics, suspicious suspects,intrepid investigators and a dainty dame. The mystery element holds strong throughout, and while the resolution is hardly a bolt from the blue, it pays off well enough to round out a good time spent with the viewing. 6.5/10