File 113 Review: A Fast-Paced Pre-Code Mystery That's Actually Fun

Is this worth watching today? Honestly, yeah, if you have an hour to kill and you like those grainy black and white mysteries. If you need big action or 4K visuals, you will probably hate this. It’s for the kind of person who likes watching actors from the 30s chew on the scenery while wearing fancy hats.

The whole thing kicks off with a bank robbery in Paris. Well, it's a robbery where the safe wasn't even forced open, which is the classic setup for a "it was an inside job" story. 🏦

Lew Cody plays the detective, Lecoq. He’s suppose to be this legendary investigator, but he mostly just hangs out and looks smug while other people panic. I kind of liked his energy. He doesn't feel like a superhero, just a guy who has seen too many liars in his life.

The movie is really short, like barely over an hour. It moves so fast that sometimes the plot gets a little tangled. I had to pay attention to who was blackmailing who, because it felt like every five minutes a new secret was popping out of a closet.

One thing I noticed was the sets. They look okay, but you can tell it's all built on a stage. There’s a scene in a bedroom that feels like the walls might shake if someone closed the door too hard.

It reminded me a bit of the vibe in The Thirteenth Hour, where the atmosphere is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. But this one feels a bit more grounded in reality, even if the reality is a Hollywood version of France where everyone has an American accent.

Clara Kimball Young is in this too. She was a huge star in the silent era, and you can still see that in her face. She has these very expressive eyes that do more work than half the dialogue in the script. 👁️

There is this one shot of a letter being read where the camera just stays on the paper for what feels like a full minute. I think I finished reading it three times before the movie moved on. It’s those little pacing hiccups that make these old movies feel so human and weird.

The dialogue is very "pre-code," meaning they get away with some slightly edgier stuff than they could a few years later. Not that it’s scandalous, but it has a bit of a bite. It’s not as theatrical as Stage Struck, but it still feels like everyone is performing for the back row.

Things I noticed:

• The safe looks like it weighs about five pounds.
• Everyone smokes constantly, even when they’re supposed to be stressed.
• The detective’s mustache is immaculate.
• There is a guy in the background of the bank scene who looks like he’s forgotten his lines.

The mystery itself isn't too hard to solve if you've seen more than two movies in your life. But that’s not really the point. The point is the vibe of 1932 Paris as imagined by a studio in California.

I enjoyed the scene where they're arguing about the keys. It’s such a simple thing, but they make it feel like the most important thing in the world. It’s much more focused than something like The Man in the Iron Mask which is all over the place with its plot.

One weird thing—there is this character who keeps showing up just to look suspicious. Like, he doesn't do much, he just looks at people from around corners. It made me laugh after the third time. 🕵️

The ending comes at you like a freight train. One minute they're investigating, and the next, everything is explained in a giant rush of words. I wish they had taken five more minutes to let the reveal breathe a bit.

Overall, it's a solid little B-movie. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s a lot better than some of the boring stuff they churned out back then. It has a bit of spirit to it.

If you're looking for something more epic, you might want to try Spartacus instead. But if you want a quick mystery before bed, File 113 does the job just fine.

I still don't know why it's called File 113. I don't think they ever even mention the number. Or maybe I just blinked and missed it. That happens with these short ones.