Menace (1934) DVD-R

Starring Gertrude Michael, Paul Cavanagh, Henrietta Crosman, John
Lodge, Ray Milland
Directed by Ralph Murphy

Print: black/white
Runtime: 58 min.
Genre: mystery
Print Quality: B

Not to be confused with Universal's 1932 The Menace, Paramount's 1934
Menace does however included a "revenge" motif similar to the plotline
of the earlier film. A mental patient, who has sworn vengeance on the
wealthy British family he holds responsible for his brother's death,
escapes on a dark and stormy night. His intended victims are holding a
party at the time of the escape. No one knows what the mental patient
looks like, so each of the male guests falls under suspicion. For a while, it
looks as though the butler (Halliwell Hobbes) is the murderer, but we can
write him off under the category of "obvious red herring." The menace of
Menace reveals himself in a finale rich with thunderclaps, lightning
strokes, and hideous maniacal laughter.