The Thirteenth Hour (1927 film)

The Thirteenth Hour (aka:The 13th Hour) is a 1927 American silent mystery film produced and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer and directed by Chester Franklin.[2][3] The film stars Lionel Barrymore in a role where, as noted criminologist Professor Leroy, he dons a weird series of disguises to hide a dark secret.[4][5][6] This was the first film where Barrymore was cast opposite talented dogs,[7] and the first where he was cast as a serial killer.[8][9]

The Thirteenth Hour
1927 lobby card
Directed byChester M. Franklin
Written byEdward T. Lowe Jr.
Screenplay byChester M. Franklin
Douglas Furber
Story byChester M. Franklin
Douglas Furber
Sydney Horler(novelization)[1]
Intertitles:
Wellyn Totman
StarringLionel Barrymore
Jacqueline Gadsdon
Charles Delaney
CinematographyMax Fabian
Edited byDan Sharits
Distributed byMetro Goldwyn Mayer
Release date
  • October 13, 1927 (1927-10-13) (United States)
Running time
6 reels, 5,252 feet
CountryUnited States
LanguagesSilent film
(English intertitles)

A print of this film survives in 16mm.[10]

Plot

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Junior detective Gray (Charles Delaney) discovers that the eccentric criminologist Professor Leroy (Lionel Barrymore) is both a crook and a murderer.[11] A German Shepherd chases the elusive LeRoy throughout a large house filled with secret rooms.

Cast

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ The 13th Hour, novelization, by Sydney Horler UK 1930
  2. ^ 2012, 1927, English, Book, Illustrated edition: Extract from The 13th hour, illustrated with scenes from the photoplay {electronic resource} (National Library of Australia Trove)
  3. ^ Everson, William K. (1972). The detective in film (illustrated ed.). Citadel Press. pp. 29, 35, 217. ISBN 9780806502984.
  4. ^ Hadden, Briton; Luce, Henry Robinson (1927). "The Thirteenth Hour". Time Magazine. pp. Volume 10. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (2004). Famous movie detectives III, Volume 3. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series (illustrated ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 285. ISBN 9780810836907.
  6. ^ The Educational screen, Volume 7. Educational Screen, Inc. 1928. p. 16.
  7. ^ Lionel Barrymore, Cameron Shipp (1974). We Barrymores (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780837175508.
  8. ^ Rigby, Jonathan (2007). American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema (illustrated ed.). Reynolds & Hearn. p. 53. ISBN 9781905287253.
  9. ^ Al Hirschfeld caricature of The Thirteenth Hour cast (Al Hirschfeld Foundation website)
  10. ^ The Thirteenth Hour at Silent Era Database
  11. ^ "Mr. Barrymore's New Idea" (The New York Times, November 28, 1927)
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