Synopsis
During a furious storm, blackmailer Jenny Wren (Morley) gathers four of her lovers — Priam Anders (Warner), Senator Herbert Walcott (Robert McWade), William Jones (Gavin Gordon) and Eddie Mack (Richard Gallagher) — at Crestwood Lodge. She wants them to pay her to keep quiet. Jenny's innocent sister Esther (Louise) has come with her fiancé Frank Andes (Matty Kemp), Priam Anders' nephew. Also present are Mrs. Walcott (Aileen Pringle), Jones' fiancée, Priam's sister Faith, and Priam's friend Mr. Vayne (Ivan F. Simpson). Late that night, gangster Gary Curtis (Cortez) and members of his gang break into the house. Going up the stairs, Gary catches Jenny as she staggers down. Jenny has been stabbed in the neck with a dart. Gary, who has come to retrieve a client's love letters from Jenny, realizes that he and the other members of his gang will be accused of the murder. The road has collapsed in the rain, and everybody is trapped in the lodge. To save themselves, the gangsters attempt to find the murderer. Gary questions each person. All the men had reasons to kill Jenny. Mr. Vayne is the father of a young man who committed suicide because Jenny rejected him.
Later that night, Esther is stabbed with a dart, and Jenny's maid disappears. Outside the lodge, Gary finds a passageway under a bench. The passage, which leads to the lodge, contains body of the maid who has been stabbed with a dart. Investigating further Gary learns from Esther that a strange noise was heard just before Jenny was stabbed. He finds the spot where a ring and knuckles hitting the wall made the noise as the dart was thrown. Gary deduces that Faith, Frank's aunt, tried to kill Esther and killed Jenny by accident. She is trying to protect the family name and feels that Esther is not worthy of her nephew. Faith takes Esther to the edge of the cliff outside the lodge and tries to push her off. Gary stops her, and she confesses. Gary gives her a chance to avoid trial and jail. She follows his hint and throws herself off the cliff.
Discussion
The Phantom of Crestwood is an entertaining
old dark house
type of mystery with plenty of suspects, secret doors and
tunnels. The detective in the case is unusual because he is a crook and
housebreaker trying to solve the murder in order to avoid being accused of the
crime himself. The guilty person pays at the end but the suicidal manner of her
death shows that the film is Pre-Code (made before the enforcement of the
restrictive Motion Picture Production Code in mid-1934).
The film begins with a radio announcer discussing the contest associated with the radio broadcast of the mystery play Who Killed Jenny Wren?, which was broadcast for six weeks by NBC Radio Network in 1932 as a promotional tie-in with The Phantom of Crestwood. The radio mystery was broadcast without an ending. Audiences were challenged to submit their solutions, with the 'best' solution winning a $6,000 prize. The film features an original ending that is not based on the contest.
Further Reading