''While the Patient Slept'' is a 1935 comedy murder mystery film directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of ...

starring

Aline MacMahon Aline Laveen MacMahon (May 3, 1899 – October 12, 1991) was an American actress. Her Broadway stage career began under producer Edgar Selwyn in ''The Mirage'' during 1920. She made her screen debut in 1931 and worked extensively in film, thea ...

as a nurse/crime sleuth and

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

as her boyfriend and police detective. It is based on the novel of the same name written by

Mignon G. Eberhart Mignon Good Eberhart (July 6, 1899, Lincoln, Nebraska – October 8, 1996, Greenwich, Connecticut) was an American author of mystery novels. She had one of the longest careers (from the 1920s to the 1980s) among major American mystery writers. ...

Plot

A comedic murder mystery involving a nurse who is assigned to the at-home care of a man who recently had a stroke. While he is unconscious, on a

dark and stormy night ''Dark and Stormy Night'' is a 2009 independent film spoofing the haunted house and murder mystery films produced by Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. Larry Blamire directed and acted in the film and wrote the screenplay. The film also includes ...

, a murder takes place in his bedroom. With family members and potential heirs confined to the house for several days, additional murders occur while the nurse and a police detective work on solving the case.

Cast

as Nurse

Sarah Keate Sarah Keate is a fictional character, the protagonist in a series of medical mystery novels by American author Mignon G. Eberhart. Overview Keate, a nurse with a talent for solving crimes, was introduced in Eberhart's debut novel, ''The Patient ...

as Detective Lt. Lance O'Leary *

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

as Ross Lonergan *

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; died March 26, 1970) was an American film actress of the 1930s. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, most likely in 1915 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration ...

as March Federie *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. Life and career Jenkins was born on Staten Island, New York, on April 9, 1900. ...

as Police Sgt. Jim Jackson *

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891, in New York City and was educated in the public schools there. He ...

as Adolphe Federie *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked in ...

as Eustace Federie * Dorothy Tree as Mittie Federie *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s. Early years He was born in Orange, New Jersey. Caree ...

as Elihu Dimuck *

Russell Hicks Edward Russell Hicks (June 4, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American film character actor. Hicks was born in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Army in France. He later became a lieutenant Colonel in the Cali ...

as Dr. Jay * Helen Flint as Isobel Federie *

Brandon Hurst Brandon Hurst (30 November 1866 – 15 July 1947) was an English stage and film actor. Early life Born in London, England, Hurst studied philology in his youth and began performing in theater in the 1880s. Before he began acting professionall ...

as Grondal * Eddie Shubert as Detective Muldoon * Walter Walker as Richard Federie *

George Chandler George Chandler (June 30, 1898 – June 10, 1985) was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the televi ...

as Evening Bulletin Reporter

Marketing

Warner Brothers marketed 12 mystery films as components of the "Clue Club", movies tied to ''Black Mask'', a pulp magazine, aimed at increasing audiences attending WB mystery movies. There were twelve titles bearing the Warner Brothers "Clue Club" label released from 1935 to 1938. Clue Club #1: '' The White Cockatoo'' (1935) Clue Club #2: ''While the Patient Slept'' (1935) Clue Club #3: '' The Florentine Dagger'' (1935) Clue Club #4: ''

The Case of the Curious Bride ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1935) Clue Club #5: ''

The Case of the Lucky Legs ''The Case of the Lucky Legs'' is a 1935 mystery film, the third in a series of Perry Mason films starring Warren William as the famed lawyer. Plot Margie Clune wins the "Lucky Legs" beauty contest concocted by Frank Patton, but has trouble ...

'' (1935) Clue Club #6: '' The Murder of Dr. Harrigan'' (1936) Clue Club #7: '' Murder by an Aristocrat'' (1936) Clue Club #8: '' The Case of the Velvet Claws'' (1936) Clue Club #9: '' The Case of the Black Cat'' (1936) Clue Club #10: '' The Case of the Stuttering Bishop'' (1937) Clue Club #11: ''

The Patient in Room 18 ''The Patient in Room 18'' is a 1929 mystery novel written by Mignon G. Eberhart. Eberhart's first published novel, it follows the adventures of Nurse Sarah Keate, who would later appear in six more of Eberhart's works, and became one of the mos ...

'' (1938) Clue Club #12: ''

Mystery House ''Mystery House'' is an adventure game released by On-Line Systems in 1980. It was designed, written and illustrated by Roberta Williams, and programmed by Ken Williams for the Apple II. ''Mystery House'' is the first graphical adventure ga ...

'' (1938)

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer was unimpressed: "Mr. Kibbie and Miss MacMahon finally break the case ... but the solution is not altogether satisfactory. Neither, for that matter, is the picture. Come right down to it, it's quite unsatisfactory." Later critics also had reservations about the film, as being a lesser version of the prize-winning book: "Unfortunately, the film producers, modeling the Eberhart mystery film versions on others of the day, sought to extend humorous quips between characters and eliminate significant elements of the plot that involved clues, no doubt in hopes of attracting a broader audience."Rick Cypert, James G. McManaway. ''America's Agatha Christie: Mignon Good Eberhart, Her Life and Works.'' Susquehanna University Press, 2005. p. 90.

References

External links

* * * * {{Ray Enright American comedy mystery films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films directed by Ray Enright 1930s comedy mystery films Warner Bros. films 1935 comedy films 1935 mystery films 1935 films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun Films about nurses