''Strangers of the Evening'' (reissued as ''The Hidden Corpse'') is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

produced by

Samuel Bischoff Samuel Bischoff (August 11, 1890 – May 21, 1975) was an American film producer who was responsible for more than 400 full-length films, two-reel comedies, and serials between 1922 and 1964. Life Born to a Jewish family in Hartford, Connec ...

for

Tiffany Pictures Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overall ...

, directed by H. Bruce Humberstone, and starring

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

Lucien Littlefield Lucien Littlefield (August 16, 1895 – June 4, 1960) was an American actor who achieved a long career from silent films to the television era. He was noted for his versatility, playing a wide range of roles and already portraying old men befor ...

and

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

. Based on

Tiffany Thayer Tiffany Ellsworth Thayer (March 1, 1902 – August 23, 1959) was an American actor, writer, and one of the founding members of the Fortean Society. Biography Born in Freeport, Illinois, Thayer quit school at age 15 and worked as an actor, reporte ...

's novel ''The Illustrious Corpse'', the screenplay was adapted by Stuart Anthony and

Warren Duff Warren Duff (May 17, 1904 – August 5, 1973) was a film and television writer and producer. As a writer, Duff wrote for films including, ''Fashions of 1934'', ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), '' Experiment Perilous'' (1944), '' Step Li ...

Plot

The body of what appears to be lawyer and aspiring politician Clark C. McNaughton is brought to the Chandler Undertaking Parlor which is on 52nd Street, his face mangled from a car accident, but it is really the body of a man called Jack Lee who died in a car accident. It will be novice nineteen year old undertaker Tommy Freeman's (Harold Waldridge) first solo job. and he's very apprehensive. Dr. Joseph Chandler (Warner Richmond), is the owner of the establishment, but he and his accomplices are trying to avoid an investigation, since McNaughton actually died of a gunshot wound having been shot by Lee in an argument. Tommy has a bad feeling about the case, so he tells Dr. Raymond Everette (Theodore von Eltz) that he's going out for "coffee" so he can delay the embalming. Shortly after, Everette's fiancée Ruth (Miriam Seegar) stops in for a visit. Feeling like she is being followed by her father, Frank Daniels (Lucien Littlefield), she says she can't stay long. Daniels, who has indeed been following her, confronts Everette and warns him to stay away from his daughter. Ruth, who has been hiding in another room, leaves the back way and hails a taxi cab just as Tommy returns to discover that Dr. Everette is leaving as well. He and Ruth are planning on eloping. Two passersby discover what appears to be a dead man laying in the alley nearby and decide to deliver him to the undertaker. Tommy warns them they should've called the cops instead of bringing him there, but the two men leave and after some discussion decide to tell a cop anyway. The cop knocks on the door, startling already skittish Tommy, then the cop tries to go after the two men who brought the body there but is unable to find them. Meanwhile the second body starts to move, and a frightened Tommy runs from the building. Later two cops arrive to collect the body of the dead man found in the alley but no one is at the undertakers, so they take the only body they see which is the one being passed off as McNaughton. The next day the newspaper headlines announce that Frank Daniels has been found dead, his face mangled beyond recognition, which prompts a murder investigation and a search for the two men, as well as a search for Tommy, Ruth and Dr. Everette. Chandler phones his accomplice and advises him that he had to bury McNaughton in his own casket since Lee's body is now missing. Days later Dr. Everette and Ruth read in the news that they are wanted for the murder of Daniels and that they have been traced to a Chicago hotel, but the pair leave quickly after seeing two cops knocking on their hotel door. A man with amnesia, who is really Frank Daniels, stops by the police station and tells Detective Brubacher (Eugene Pallette) that he knows about a murder on 52nd Street, but can't seem to remember anything about it. After questioning Daniels he finds out that the man is living on 84th Street with a nice lady named Sybil. The other detective gives him the name of Richard Roe, and has Sybil brought in for questioning. Sybil tells Brubacher that she found Richard/Daniels on 52nd Street wearing nothing but a raincoat and that she brought him home with her, got him some clothes, and has been taking care of him ever since. Everette is determined to find out the truth to clear his name and Ruth's, he goes back to the undertaker's and talks to Chandler, who doesn't know much and what he does know he isn't sharing. Everette sees McNaughton's bloody clothes in Chandler's desk drawer, but Chandler warns him to mind his own business. Everette then goes to Sybil's to look at the raincoat Richard was found in and discovers that it belonged to Tommy, and that there's a slip of paper with an address on it. Next he goes to visit Tommy who is hiding out at a friend's apartment in Philadelphia, Tommy tells him he ran when the body started to move. The cops exhume what they believe to be Daniels' body, but Chandler sees the body and claims that it is McNaughton's body, however Daniels' uncle (Tully Marshall) claims it isn't his nephew, in spite of the mangled face. The district attorney gives the okay to exhume McNaughton's body, but Chandler and his men get there first. Everette intercepts and arranges to deliver the body, Chandler and his men to Brubacher and the district attorney. A short while later Frank Daniels appears at the police station, Ruth recognizes him, and she and Everette are cleared.

Cast

as Sybil Smith *

as Detective Brubacher *

as Frank "Snookie" Daniels aka Richard Roe *

Tully Marshall Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...

as Robert Daniels *

Miriam Seegar Miriam Seegar Whelan (September 1, 1907 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress in silent film and early sound films. Early life As the Seegar sisters started acting and singing, Frank Seegar left teaching to open a hardware store in effo ...

as Ruth Daniels *

Theodore von Eltz Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...

as Dr. Raymond Everette *

Warner Richmond Warner Richmond (born Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann; January 11, 1886 – June 19, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. He began his career as a stock theatre actor and appeared in films in both the silent film and sound eras. His career spa ...

as Dr. Joseph Chandler *Harold Waldridge as Tommy Freeman *

Mahlon Hamilton Mahlon Preston Hamilton, Jr. (June 15, 1880 – June 20, 1960), was an American stage and screen actor. He was the son of a bartender born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of four children, with the rest of the siblings being girls. Census ...

as Charles E. Frisbee, Deputy District Attorney * Alan Roscoe as Sutherland * William Scott as Passerby *

Francis Sayles Francis Sayles (November 22, 1891 – March 19, 1944) was an American character actor at the beginning of the sound film era. In the short dozen years of his career he appeared in over 100 films, most of them features. While he was normally ...

as Roberts

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strangers Of The Evening 1932 films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films Tiffany Pictures films 1932 comedy films American comedy mystery films Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films directed by H. Bruce Humberstone 1930s comedy mystery films 1930s American films