THE NINTH GUEST
1934, Sony Repertory, 65 min. Dir. Roy William Neill.
A spine-tingling “locked-room” mystery about eight guests invited to spend a night in a penthouse apartment. The trapped ensemble is compelled by a disembodied host to deduce the identity of the ninth guest by morning … or else! Stylishly directed by the underrated Roy Neill (THE BLACK ROOM, THE SCARLET CLAW), this rare horror-mystery stars Donald Cook, Genevieve Tobin, Vince Barnett and Samuel S. Hinds. NOT ON DVD.

LET US LIVE
1939, Sony Repertory, 68 min. Dir. John Brahm.
Compelling proto-noir concerning a pair of innocent taxi drivers (Henry Fonda and Alan Baxter) railroaded to the death house for a robbery-homicide. An early standout performance by Fonda receives stellar support from costar Maureen O’Sullivan, along with a well-crafted script (by Anthony Veiller and Allen Rivkin), photography (Lucien Ballard) and superior direction by noir maestro John Brahm.

Archival Print!
HEAT LIGHTNING
1934, Warner Bros., 63 min. Dir. Mervyn LeRoy.
A startling, existential pre-Code gem with a feminist slant, about two sisters (the brilliant Ann Dvorak and Aline MacMahon) who run a Mojave Desert filling station/tourist stop and become trapped by their past and a pair of gunmen (Preston Foster and Lyle Talbot) on the lam. This fast-paced, noir-stained predecessor to THE PETRIFIED FOREST was adapted from a George Abbott play and still packs a wallop. With Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh and Ruth Donnelly.

Archival Print!
SAFE IN HELL
1931, Warner Bros., 73 min. Dir. William A. Wellman. Trailer
Only Darryl F. Zanuck and Wild Bill Wellman could have conjured up this lurid pre-Code thriller. New Orleans prostitute Dorothy MacKaill is accused of murdering the pimp who turned her out. To avoid extradition, she is smuggled to a wayward Caribbean isle by her boyfriend (Donald Cook) and ends up being targeted as the singular object of lust by a group of international criminals and assorted lowlifes inhabiting a sleazy seaside hotel.