Murder at Dawn: A B-Movie Time Capsule

Is it worth it?

If you have a thing for vintage mad scientist tropes and don’t mind movies that feel like they were held together with duct tape and good intentions, then sure, dive in. People who get bored by static camera work or wooden acting will probably want to skip this one entirely. It’s definitely not a masterpiece, but it has a weird charm to it.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a basement that someone dressed up to look like a mountain hideaway. The scientist is exactly what you expect—wild hair, frantic energy, and a death ray that sounds more like a broken vacuum cleaner than a doomsday weapon. 🧪

The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like we’re stuck in the same room for an eternity, watching characters stare at each other. Then, suddenly, something happens, and it’s over before you can even track what went wrong. It reminds me a bit of the frantic, uneven energy in The Patent Leather Pug, just with more ominous machinery.

There’s this one scene where a character walks across the room, and I swear he spends at least ten seconds just adjusting his coat. Why? Who knows. It doesn't add to the tension, but it’s the kind of tiny, useless detail that makes me wonder if the director just walked away from the camera for a smoke break.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Murder at Dawn (1932) through its definitive frames.

Mischa Auer is in here, and he’s doing his best to keep things interesting while everyone else is busy delivering lines like they’re reading a grocery list. It’s almost painful, but in a funny way. You can tell they were trying to be serious, but the movie just doesn't have the gravity to pull it off.

I found myself looking at the background props more than the actual plot. There’s a switchboard that looks like it came from a 1920s telephone exchange, and it’s supposed to be high-tech science equipment. It's so charmingly fake. Honestly, I’ve seen more realistic tech in Fly Hi, and that’s saying something. 📻

The ending is… well, it’s an ending. It happens, and then the credits roll. Don’t expect a big emotional payoff or a complex moral lesson. It’s just a weird, little snapshot of a time when scientists in movies were always about one button-press away from blowing up the planet.

• That one door that keeps squeaking every time someone enters.
• The scientist’s lab coat looks remarkably clean for someone handling 'death rays'.
• The lighting in the mountain scenes makes it look like it's high noon in the middle of a thunderstorm.
• Nobody seems to know what to do with their hands when they aren't holding a prop.

It’s not good, but it’s not exactly boring either. It’s just… there. Perfect for a rainy Sunday when you’ve already watched everything else on your list and you don’t mind a little bit of cinematic nonsense. 🎞️