The Second Floor Mystery
| Second Floor Mystery (1930) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Roy Del Ruth |
| Written by | Earl Derr Biggers Joseph Jackson |
| Cinematography | Barney McGill |
| Edited by | William Holmes |
| Music by | Samuel Kaylin, R.H. Bassett |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | April 26, 1930 (US) |
Running time | 58 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Second Floor Mystery is a 1930 American murder mystery comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth. It was based on the novel The Agony Column which was written by Earl Derr Biggers. The film starred Grant Withers, Loretta Young, H. B. Warner and John Loder.
Plot
Grant Withers and Loretta Young, two American tourists in London, meet each-other at a London hotel while eating breakfast. Both are reading the personal columns of The Times. The next day Withers inserts an ad, under the alias of Lord Strawberries, which requests her friendship. Young, using the alias of Lady Grapefruit, places an ad in reply which suggests that he write a series of five letters proving himself worth knowing. Withers makes up a fabulous story about a murder mystery based on the things he has heard his upstairs neighbors arguing about. Young's aunt, who disapproves of Withers, suspects that Withers is the murderer and contacts Scotland Yard. Withers' neighbor (the one he mentioned in his letters) is found dead and the police immediately suspect Withers and Young as being involved in the murder. The real murderer, when he hears they are prime suspects, then attempts to frame them.
Cast
- Grant Withers as Geoffrey West
- Loretta Young as Marion Ferguson
- H.B. Warner as Inspector Bray
- Claire McDowell as Aunt Hattie
- Sidney Bracey as Alfred
- Crauford Kent as Capt. Fraser-Freer
- John Loder as Fraser-Freer's Younger Brother
- Claude King as Enright
- Judith Vosselli as the Vamp
- Cosmo Kyrle Bellew as Wilson
Preservation
The film survives complete. A mute print was transferred onto 16mm film by Associated Artists Productions in the 1950's but the soundtrack could not be found and it was never televised. The Vitaphone soundtrack was discovered in 2004 and restored to the film by UCLA. A 16mm copy is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.[1].