A mysterious young girl named Lela is found electrocuted in the abandoned Morgan mansion. At the request of Police Captain Ryan, private investigator (and suave playboy) Phil Winston takes time out from his carefree social life to help ferret out the murderer.
Winston discovers that Lela had facial reconstruction so she would look identical to heiress Marie Morgan. Deducing that Marie was the intended victim, Winston gathers the Morgan family to the decrepit mansion in an attempt to trap the killer. The murders continue. Greed for the family's vast fortune makes everyone a suspect.
In one of her first films, Ginger Rogers radiates star quality in the dual roles of Lela and Marie. With sleek direction by Albert Ray, The Thirteenth Guest (aka, Lady Beware) is a riveting murder mystery that is based on a novel by Armitage Trail, best known for writing the novel that became the source material for Scarface (1932).
Product Description:
A classic poverty-row thriller, with a hooded madman who kills the residents of a spooky old house with electricity.
Plot Synopsis:
Thirteen years ago, somebody murdered the wealthy host of a dinner party. Now, the guests from that event reunite at the creepy house where the crime took place to figure out who inherited the victim's estate. Meanwhile, Winston, a wisecracking private detective, tries to unmask the killer. Will he get to the bottom of the mystery -- or will Captain Ryan from the police department solve the case before him?
Good who-done-it
Movie Lover: John Walter from
Middle Village, NY US -- February, 11, 2010
Ginger Rogers in a suspense murder mystery before she danced her way to fame with Fred Astaire! That in itself is enough to see this film. Lyle Talbot's a little stiff and stuffy but he always played that kind of part. It's a good low budget mystery complete with haunted house, electronic murder, hooded villian, and a good comic scene near the very end of the film. As pointed out by another reviewer there are some holes in the plot but it's far superiod to many movies of its kind and age. And Ginger is cute!
The Thirteenth Guest
Movie Lover: henri donadille from
Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine FR -- October, 2, 2005
I enjoyed this antique thriller very much. It was real a pleasure to see pretty, young Ginger Rogers in a haunted house before her Fred Astaire days. The story is somewhat complicated and you have to fill in the blanks sometimes which is normal in these low-budget films (Example: It's never really revealed who the man is that gets murdered while the family is in jail. I'd have to say that it was the missing Uncle, for sure). The haunted house, itself, is very satisfactory and atmospheric. The supporting cast all play well. I laughed outloud when I realized why the character Grump's shoes were on the wrong feet near the end of the film! As far as "oldies" go, I'd have to say that "The Thirteenth Guest" is an agreeable little mystery and that it was a nice surprise to see it's star when she was that young.
Film Collectors & Archivists: Alpha Video is actively looking for rare and
unusual pre-1943 motion pictures, in good condition, from Monogram, PRC,
Tiffany, Chesterfield, and other independent studios for release on DVD. We
are also interested in TV shows from the early 1950s. Share your passion
for films with a large audience.
Let us know what you have.
Based on 
