The Mystery of the 13th Guest

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Helen Parrish, Dick Purcell, and Tim Ryan in The Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943)

A woman of twenty-one opens her grandfather's will left to her thirteen years earlier, per his instructions. Murder soon follows.A woman of twenty-one opens her grandfather's will left to her thirteen years earlier, per his instructions. Murder soon follows.A woman of twenty-one opens her grandfather's will left to her thirteen years earlier, per his instructions. Murder soon follows.

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IMDb RATING

5.4/10

876

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Top cast22

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Helen Parrish

Marie Morgan

Dick Purcell

Johnny Smith

Tim Ryan

Police Lt. Burke

Frank Faylen

Speed Dugan aka McGinnis

Johnny Duncan

Harold Morgan
(as John Duncan)

John Dawson

Tom Jackson
(as Jon Dawson)

Addison Richards

Jim - District Attorney

Jacqueline Dalya

Marjory Morgan

Cyril Ring

John Barksdale - Lawyer

Paul McVey

Adam Morgan

Lloyd Ingraham

Grandfather Morgan

Robert J. Anderson

Harold as a Child
(uncredited)

Shirley Jean Anderson

Marie as a Child
(uncredited)

Mike Donovan

Mike - Police Desk Sergeant
(uncredited)

Lester Dorr

Carter
(uncredited)

Dick Gordon

Uncle John
(uncredited)

Herbert Heyes

Dr. Sherwood - Plastic Surgeon
(uncredited)

Donald Kerr

Photographer
(uncredited)

Storyline

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Trivia
Frank Faylen who played policeman "Speed Dugan" would go on to notoriety as Dobie Gillis's father in the early-1960s sitcom "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis."

Goofs
It's never said who raises young Marie. Surrounded by aunts, uncles, cousins, a grandfather, and the grandfather's lawyer, she and her brother are supposedly orphans, although this is never said. Why the grandfather favors his granddaughter over his grandson is also a mystery. In that he's soon to die, it's curious who becomes her guardian over the next 13 years (since it's a good guess her grandfather has been watching out for her and won't be around to protect her).

Quotes
Johnny Smith: Burke, you ought to have that mind of yours dry-cleaned.
Police Lt. Burke: And while I'm at it, I'll have your conscience pressed.

Alternate versions
Alternate titles include "Dangerous Men" and "The Last Racketeer."

Connections
Featured in Movies at Midnight: The Mystery of the 13th Guest (1954)

User reviews30

Review

Featured review

6/10

A young girl arrives at her ancestral home and is...

A young girl arrives at her ancestral home and is promptly murdered-- -or is she? Twelve years earlier the murdered woman, as a little girl, had attended a birthday party for her dying grandfather. Thirteen partygoers were invited but only twelve attended. The thirteenth guest was death.

Now, in the present, the original twelve guests are members of the family fighting over the will and someone wants the money badly enough to kill for it. Detective Dick Purcell is called in to solve the crime, aided by comic sidekicks and the usual inept policemen who only seem to inhabit "B" mysteries. Directed by William "One Shot" Beaudine, this 60 minute quickie is a darn good version of the Armitage Trail mystery and manages to be a little better that its 1932 predecessor-----though for some reason the 1943 film is much more difficult to see.