Curtain at Eight (1933)

When "Wylie Thornton" (Paul Cavanagh), an actor who likes the company of women - not necessarily his wife - is shot at his own birthday party, we have no shortage of suspects. Detectives "Halliday" (Sam Hardy) and his sidekick "Hanvey" (C. Aubrey Smith) are soon drafted in to fathom it all out... Much of this is just a standard whodunit, and as we discover just how unpleasant "Wylie" actually was, we might also want to join the line-up of potential killers, too. What makes this a bit more fun is the dynamic between the two detectives. Hardy, the senior of the two, frequently comes up with half baked solutions whilst Smith proves the far more astute and considered of the pair and largely lets his boss bask in the glory whilst he does all the work. Good to see Smith given a more substantial role - he plays it well, and there's also a fine contribution from Natalie Moorhead as the deceased man's somewhat clandestine widow "Alma". The writing is simple, but effective, the ending is quite quirky - almost vindicating the crime - and at just over an hour it sustains the suspense quite well...