The Westland Case

Last updated
The Westland Case
The-westland-case-movie-poster-md.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Christy Cabanne
Screenplay byRobertson White [1]
Based on Headed for a Hearse
by Jonathan Latimer
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Ira Morgan [1]
Edited by Otis Garrett [1]
Music by Charles Previn [1]
Production
company
Crime Club Productions [1]
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date
  • October 31, 1937 (1937-10-31)
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited States [1]
LanguageEnglish

The Westland Case is a 1937 American mystery film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, and Carol Hughes.

Contents

Cast

Production

In 1937, Universal Pictures made a deal with the Crime Club who published whodunnit novels. [2] Universal were granted the right to select four of their yearly published novels to adapt into films. [2] The unit responsible for these films was producer Irving Starr. [2] Eleven films were made in the series between 1937 and 1939. [3] The Westland Case was the first in the series and was based on the Jonathan Latimer novel Headed for a Hearse . [4]

The first films in the series featured Preston Foster as Bill Crane and Frank Jenks as Doc Williams were cast as the wisecracking New York city detectives. [4] These characters would appear in two other films in the series: The Lady in the Morgue and The Last Warning . [4] [5]

Release

The Westland Case was released on October 31, 1937. [4]

Related Research Articles

Preston Foster American actor and singer

Preston Stratton Foster, was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist.

<i>The Invisible Man Returns</i> 1940 film by Joe May

The Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, and the second film in the Invisible Man film series. The film is about Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) who is condemned for a murder he did not commit, which leads to him begging Dr. Frank Griffin (Sutton) to inject him with the invisibility serum despite Griffin's warning that the serum will drive him mad.

Jonathan Wyatt Latimer was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.

Frank Jenks American actor (1902–1962)

Frank Jenks was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films.

<i>She-Wolf of London</i> (film) 1946 film by Jean Yarbrough

She-Wolf of London is a 1946 American mystery and horror film directed by Jean Yarbrough. It stars June Lockhart and Don Porter. The film is set in London in the early 20th century, where a series of murders have recently occurred. An aunt then tells an innocent young lady that the blood of a werewolf runs in her family and that she is responsible for the deaths. The woman then immediately ends her engagement, leading to her partner to begin investigating the strange case on his own.

Universal Classic Monsters Horror and science fiction films made by Universal Studios (1930s–1950s)

Universal Classic Monsters is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially conceived as a franchise, the enduring popularity and legacy of the films and the characters featured in them has led the studio to market them under the collective brand name of Universal Studios Monsters. Steve Jones of USA Today described Universal's most famous monsters as "pop culture icons", specifically Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Wolf Man.

The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series, and a 1937-1939 film series.

<i>Calling Dr. Death</i> 1943 film by Reginald Le Borg

Calling Dr. Death is a 1943 Inner Sanctum mystery film. The "Inner Sanctum" franchise originated with a popular radio series and all of the films star Lon Chaney, Jr. The movie stars Chaney, Jr. and Patricia Morison, and was directed by Reginald Le Borg. Chaney, Jr. plays a neurologist, Dr. Mark Steele, who loses memory of the past few days after learning that his wife has been brutally murdered. Aware of his wife's infidelity and believing he could be the killer, Steele asks his office nurse Stella Madden to help him recover his lost memories.

Jan Wiley was an American film actress.

<i>Secret of the Chateau</i> 1934 film by Richard Thorpe

Secret of the Chateau is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Richard Thorpe. The film stars Claire Dodd, Alice White, Osgood Perkins, Jack La Rue, George E. Stone and Clark Williams. On its release, reviews from Variety, The Film Daily and The Motion Picture Herald all commented that the film was a typical mystery film. On retrospective reviews, the book Universal Horrors stated the film had little to distinguish itself from others mystery films of the 1930s and 1940s and has justly been forgotten.

<i>The House of Fear</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Joe May

The House of Fear is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Joe May and starring William Gargan, Irene Hervey and Dorothy Arnold. After an actor is killed during the middle of a play the theatre is closed. A year later a young producer re-assembles the cast and re-opens the theatre, intending to the stage the same play performed on the night of the murder.

<i>The Black Doll</i> 1938 film by Otis Garrett

The Black Doll is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and starring Donald Woods and Edgar Kennedy. The film was the second in Universal's Crime Club series following The Westland Case.

<i>The Witness Vanishes</i> 1939 American film directed by Otis Garrett

The Witness Vanishes is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and starring Edmund Lowe, Wendy Barrie, and Bruce Lester.

<i>Inside Information</i> (1939 film) 1939 film directed by Charles Lamont

Inside Information is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Charles Lamont. The film stars Dick Foran, Harry Carey, and June Lang. It was released on June 2, 1939. During production, the working title of the film was Metropolitan Police.

<i>Frankenstein</i> (Universal film series) American horror film series

Frankenstein is a film series of horror films from Universal Pictures based on the play version by Peggy Webling and the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The series follow the story of a monster created by Henry Frankenstein who is made from body parts of corpses and brought back to life. The rest of the series generally follows the monsters continuously being revived and eventually focuses on a series of cross overs with other Universal horror film characters such as The Wolf Man. The series consists of the following films: Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

<i>The Invisible Man</i> (film series) American film series

The Invisible Man is a film series by Universal Pictures. The series consists of The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. The film series borrows elements from H. G. Wells's novel The Invisible Man, but it focuses primarily on the idea of a serum that causes someone to go invisible and its side-effects.

<i>The Last Express</i> (film) 1938 film by Otis Garrett

The Last Express is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and written by Edmund Hartmann. It is based on the 1937 novel The Last Express by Baynard Kendrick. The film stars Kent Taylor, Dorothea Kent, Don Brodie, Paul Hurst, Addison Richards, Greta Granstedt, Robert Emmett Keane and J. Farrell MacDonald. The film was released on October 28, 1938, by Universal Pictures.

<i>The Lady in the Morgue</i> (film) 1938 film

The Lady in the Morgue is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Otis Garrett and written by Eric Taylor and Robertson White. It is based on the 1936 novel The Lady in the Morgue by Jonathan Latimer. The film stars Preston Foster, Patricia Ellis, Frank Jenks, Thomas E. Jackson, Wild Bill Elliott, Roland Drew and Barbara Pepper. The film was released on April 22, 1938, by Universal Pictures.

<i>Gambling Ship</i> (1938 film) 1938 crime film directed by Aubrey Scotto

Gambling Ship is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Aubrey Scotto and written by Alex Gottlieb. The film stars Robert Wilcox, Helen Mack, Edward Brophy, Irving Pichel, Joe Sawyer and Selmer Jackson. The film was released on December 16, 1938, by Universal Pictures.

<i>The Last Warning</i> (1938 film) 1939 American film

The Last Warning is a 1938 American mystery film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Edmund Hartmann. It is based on the 1938 novel The Dead Don't Care by Jonathan Latimer. The film stars Preston Foster, Frank Jenks, Kay Linaker, E. E. Clive, Joyce Compton and Frances Robinson. The film was released on January 6, 1939, by Universal Pictures.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Westland Case". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 175.
  3. "The Westland Case". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 176.
  5. Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 177.

Sources

  • Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN   978-0-7864-2974-5.