THE WITCHING HOUR (1934)
Article #1114 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-2-2004
Posting Date: 8-30-2001
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Featuring Guy Standing, John Halliday, William Frawley

A young man commits murder after accidentally being placed under hypnosis, and must find someone to defend him at his trial.

There’s nothing particularly novel about the central gimmick of this story (murder under hypnotism); it’s popped up many a time in other movies. Nonetheless, even a fairly hackneyed concept can work well if handled in a novel way, and that is just what this movie does. First of all, the fact that the murder was committed under hypnosis is not the big final revelation (as it is in several other movies); rather, the emphasis is on finding someone who is willing to defend them with this explanation rather than having the man plead insanity, and then to try and convince a skeptical jury. The backstory is novel and interesting, involving an illegal gambling den, a cat’s-eye ring, and two concepts that also cause the movie to fall into the realm of the fantastic; namely, telepathy and ghostly apparitions. The characters are also well-drawn, and the story solidly constructed. In fact, I consider this movie to be one of those forgotten gems that I occasionally encounter, and this goes a long way to make up for the fact that my print of the movie is in very poor condition. This is definitely one I will upgrade when the opportunity presents itself.