Darkened Rooms is a 1929 American pre-Code mystery film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Evelyn Brent.[2] It was an early talking picture. This film is preserved at the Library of Congress.[3] The film tried to cash in on the interest in spiritualism caused by the then-popular Harry Houdini, but critics felt the film couldn't quite decide whether it was debunking the supernatural, or embracing it.[1]
Darkened Rooms | |
---|---|
Directed by | Louis J. Gasnier |
Written by | Melville Baker Patrick Kearney Patrick Konesky Richard H. Digges Jr.[1] |
Starring | Evelyn Brent Neil Hamilton Doris Hill[1] |
Cinematography | Archie Stout |
Edited by | Frances Marsh |
Music by | Karl Hajos [1] |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
A down-on-his-luck photographer named Emory Jago teams up with a phony fortune teller named Ellen in a scheme to cheat naive people out of their cash with phony predictions. But as time goes on, Jago begins to believe that Ellen really does possess supernatural powers.
Critic Troy Howarth writes "Like many early talkies, Darkened Rooms suffers from primitive staging and technique, though studio technicians managed some spooky sound effects for the seance sequences....Reviews of the day praised leading lady Evelyn Brent."[1]