The Spider (1931): Old-School Magic, Murder, and a Stage Full of Suspects 🕷️

Is The Spider (1931) worth digging up today? Absolutely, if you’re into those old-school stage mysteries where the whole cast is stuck in one room. Anyone who loves a classic whodunit, especially one heavy on magic show vibes, will probably get a kick out of this. But if you need fast pacing and slick modern effects, you might find it a bit slow and, well, *quaint*.

So, the setup is pretty neat. Chatrand the Great, a magician, is on the radio trying to find out who his assistant, Alexander, really is. See, Alexander got a head knock two years back and can’t remember a thing. Now he’s the mind reader in Chatrand’s act.

Suddenly, Beverly Lane tunes in. Her brother vanished around the same time Alexander lost his memory. *Ding, ding, ding!* Her uncle, John Carrington, a big financier, just calls it a cheap stunt. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this guy is trouble. But Beverly insists on going to the theater.

Before the show really gets going, Chatrand spots Beverly. He recognizes her from a locket Alexander wears, which is a bit of a coincidence, but hey, it’s 1931. He’s always wanted to meet the woman in that picture.

During the act, Chatrand, blindfolded, has Alexander describe things from the audience. When Alexander is asked to describe Beverly's locket – which is identical to his own – Carrington jumps up. He struggles with Chatrand, and then Sonya, another assistant, flips a light switch. In the dark, a shot rings out. Carrington falls.

Inspector Riley and his police arrive. They don’t let anyone leave, naturally. They find a gun right by Alexander, who’s out cold. When Chatrand takes off Alexander’s mask, Beverly cries out. It’s her lost brother! Alexander wakes up, looks at Beverly, and blurts out, “He tried to kill me; I had to do it!” That’s a pretty open-and-shut case for Riley. 😬

But Chatrand isn’t buying it. He’s a showman, and he’s going to solve this on his terms. At one point, he literally escapes into a casket and then through a trap door. It's wonderfully, wonderfully over-the-top, and a moment that truly sticks with you. That’s commitment to the bit.

Alexander eventually remembers some things: Carrington tried to steal his family’s money. He’d tried to kill him before, which led to the amnesia. This info dump feels a tiny bit rushed, but it gets us past the “who is he?” question pretty fast.

The movie really, *really* gets interesting when Chatrand decides to hold a séance for the trapped audience. His image appears before them, and Carrington, speaking through Chatrand, threatens to name his murderer. A shot breaks the mirror reflecting Chatrand’s image. It’s such a brilliant use of the stage and illusion for suspense. The crowd scenes have this oddly empty feeling, like half the extras wandered off, but it actually adds to the tension of everyone being stuck there.

Next, Alexander, back as a mind reader, starts revealing little dark secrets of audience members. It’s a bit of a tangent, creating these fun, quick little character sketches, even if some of them are pretty irrelevant to the main plot.

He says the murderer wears a spider ring, then names the row. The tension is genuinely palpable, even with the older acting styles. You can almost feel the movie trying to convince you this moment matters.

Then, the killer, Dr. Blackstone, completely loses it. He hysterically yells that Carrington deserved it, ruining his bank and thousands of people. It’s not a huge surprise by that point, but the *delivery* is just wild.

One reaction shot of Chatrand lingers so long it becomes funny, like he’s just soaking it all in. The dialogue, especially from Chatrand, is quite snappy for its time. He's got a real theatrical flair even when he’s being a detective.

The "spider ring" detail is a nice recurring motif, though I wish we’d seen it a bit more clearly before the big reveal. And Beverly getting “fond” of Chatrand at the end? A little tacked on, sure, but it’s a 1931 movie. You gotta have a little romance. ❤️

The way they keep the entire audience in the theater for so long is pretty amusing if you think about it. “Just sit tight, folks, there’s been a murder, and we’re going to solve it *right here*.” No one tries to sneak out. Such polite criminals.

The Spider isn't a deep film, not a profound exploration of the human condition. But it’s a really solid example of a pre-code mystery using its theatrical setting to full advantage. The energy of the stage, the illusions, the way the “magic” is repurposed for detection—it all works. Sometimes the pacing drags a tiny bit between the big reveals, especially when Inspector Riley is just doing police stuff. But Chatrand always swoops in to liven things up. It's an interesting watch, a little piece of film history that holds up pretty well for the right kind of viewer.