The Thirteenth Hour (1927 film)

The Thirteenth Hour (aka:The 13th Hour) is a 1927 American silent film mystery produced and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer and directed by Chester Franklin.[1][2] The film stars Lionel Barrymore in a role where, as noted criminologist Professor Leroy, he dons a weird series of disguises to hide a dark secret.[3][4][5] This was the first film where Barrymore was cast opposite talented dogs,[6] and the first where he was cast as a serial killer.[7][8]

The Thirteenth Hour
1927 lobby card
Directed by	Chester M. Franklin
Written by	Edward T. Lowe Jr.
Screenplay by	Chester M. Franklin Douglas Furber
Story by	Chester M. Franklin Douglas Furber Intertitles: Wellyn Totman
Starring	Lionel Barrymore Jacqueline Gadsdon Charles Delaney
Cinematography	Max Fabian
Edited by	Dan Sharits
Distributed by	Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Release date	October 13, 1927 (United States)
Running time	6 reels, 5,252 feet
Country	United States
Language	Silent film (English intertitles)

A print of this film survives in 16mm.[9]

Plot

Junior detective Gray (Charles Delaney) discovers that the eccentric criminologist Professor Leroy (Lionel Barrymore) is both a crook and a murderer.[10]

Cast

• Lionel Barrymore as Professor Leroy
• Jacqueline Gadsdon as Mary Lyle
• Charles Delaney as Matt Gray
• Fred Kelsey as Detective Shaw
• Polly Moran as Polly
• Napoleon the Dog as the dog
• Sojin

See also

• Lionel Barrymore filmography

References

1. 2012, 1927, English, Book, Illustrated edition: Extract from The 13th hour, illustrated with scenes from the photoplay {electronic resource} (National Library of Australia Trove)
2. Everson, William K. (1972). The detective in film (illustrated ed.). Citadel Press. pp. 29, 35, 217. ISBN 9780806502984.
3. "The Thirteenth Hour". Time Magazine. 1927. pp. Volume 10. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
4. Pitts, Michael R. (2004). Famous movie detectives III, Volume 3. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series (illustrated ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 285.
5. The Educational screen, Volume 7. Educational Screen, Inc. 1928. p. 16.
6. Lionel Barrymore, Cameron Shipp (1974). We Barrymores (illustrated ed.). Greenwood Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780837175508.
7. Rigby, Jonathan (2007). American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema (illustrated ed.). Reynolds & Hearn. p. 53. ISBN 9781905287253.
8. Al Hirschfeld caricature of The Thirteenth Hour cast (Al Hirschfeld Foundation website)
9. The Thirteenth Hour at Silent Era Database
10. "Mr. Barrymore's New Idea" (The New York Times, November 28, 1927)

External links

• The Thirteenth Hour at IMDb
• The Thirteenth Hour at AllMovie
• The Thirteenth Hour at the American Film Institute Catalog
• The Thirteenth Hour at the TCM Movie Database
• The 13th Hour at Silent Era
• Screen cap of Lionel Barrymore in the film
• French pressbook(archived)