The Thirteenth Chair

7/30/2018

Some films are known more for the trivia associated with them than their actual content – The Thirteenth Chair (1929) being one of them. As the first sound film for director Tod Browning and his first collaboration with the Hungarian emigre actor Bela Lugosi it is these points of interest in a film a few years before Dracula (1931) that draw most attention. Browning seems very restricted by the early sound recording systems and this very theatrical film plays out mostly on a single set in prolonged wide shots. The opening scene as a mysterious figure enters a building and almost steps on a pool of blood left by a murder victim is handled with some style but is one of the few visual treats in a very static film. Lugosi is very engaged in his part, talking much faster and with