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3.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 3.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Detective Lloyd remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, it depends on how much you like movies where people talk in rooms for ten minutes before something actually happens. If you’re a fan of vintage crime dramas and don’t mind a bit of stiffness, you’ll dig this. If you need explosions or even a coherent sense of urgency, you’ll probably be bored to tears within the first act. 🕵️♂️
There’s this one scene where Earle Stanley is just staring at a doorway. I swear he stood there long enough for me to go make a sandwich. It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just... incredibly deliberate.
Watching this made me think of the pacing in The Lady Clare. It’s that same kind of 1930s earnestness where every line of dialogue is delivered like it’s being read from a stone tablet.
The whole plot hinges on this "priceless amulet," which looks suspiciously like a prop they probably found in the bottom of a desk drawer. Nobody acts like it’s worth a fortune, they just sort of stand near it and look serious.
It reminds me of the low-stakes mystery vibe in Phantom Fortunes. You aren't watching for the twists; you’re watching because it’s comforting to see a movie that doesn't care about your attention span.
There’s a moment where a character walks into a room, realizes they are in the wrong place, and then just walks back out without saying a word. It felt so human, so weirdly unscripted. Maybe they actually *were* in the wrong place? It’s hard to tell with these older films.
If you’re looking for a masterpiece, keep looking. If you want a movie that feels like a forgotten postcard from 1932, here you go. It’s not great, but it’s stubbornly itself. And sometimes, that’s plenty.