Before Morning 1933

Format: PAL or NTSC (Region Free (0)) will play on US systems. Please read the FAQ below.

Before Morning is a 1933 American pre-Code crime drama directed by Arthur Hoerl, and starring Leo Carrillo, Lora Baxter, and Taylor Holmes. The film was adapted for the screen by Arthur Hoerl, from the 1933 Broadway play of the same name by Edward and Edna Riley.

An innkeeper is accused of stealing a watch from the English royalty who are guests at his inn. The old man is arrested and thrown in prison; his son, suspecting a foul play, follows the royal party to London to find out who framed him.

Actress Elsie Manning (Lora Baxter) is engaged to Horace Baker (Blaine Cordner), but has also been in a romantic relationship with James Nichols (Russell Hicks) who has named her as the beneficiary in his will. Not knowing about her engagement, Nichols asks his wife for a divorce and is refused. Nichols dies in Manning's apartment after she tells him she's engaged to Baker. When Baker arrives on the scene, he agrees to help her dispose of the body by having Nichols moved to a sanitarium. The owner, Dr. Gruelle (Leo Carrillo), tells them Nichols was murdered by poison and attempts to extort money from Manning for his statement that the death was of natural causes. Gruelle tries the same scam on the widow of Nichols (Louise Prussing), who eventually agrees when the poison is found in her purse. It is revealed that Gruelle is really a police inspector named Mr. Maitland intent on solving the murder.

Run Time: 67 Minutes

FAQ

Item details: Such is the nature of many films from this era that video and audio quality can be variable, reflecting the rarity of these titles. The best available sources for sound and picture quality are used wherever possible though are not ‘restored’ and are not in high definition. Please click on the listing images to enlarge screenshots from the title for a better idea of picture quality. Items are supplied on a colour printed DVD in a clear plastic wallet sleeve and not in a full size case, no additional artwork is supplied.

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