The Rogues' Tavern

The Rogues' Tavern is a 1936 American murder mystery film directed by Robert F. Hill and starring Wallace Ford, Barbara Pepper, and Joan Woodbury.[1] The film was produced by Mercury Pictures,[2] and released by Puritan Picture[3] on June 4, 1936.

The Rogues' Tavern
Directed byRobert F. Hill
Written byAl Martin (original screenplay)
Produced bySam Katzman
StarringWallace Ford
Barbara Pepper
Joan Woodbury
CinematographyWilliam Hyer
Edited byDan Milner
Production
company
Mercury Pictures Corporation
Distributed byPuritan Pictures Corporation
Pathé Pictures Lid.
Release date
  • June 4, 1936 (1936-06-04)
Running time
70 minutes (Australia, uncut version)
70 minutes (U.S.)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

It is a bleak and windy night when Jimmy Kelly (Wallace Ford) and Marjorie Burns (Barbara Pepper) arrive at the Red Rock Tavern with plans to marry as soon as possible, but are told there are no rooms available. Mrs. Jamison (Clara Kimball Young) agrees to let them stay until the justice of the peace gets there, as they've arranged to meet him there.

Everyone in the tavern is shocked when Harrison is killed, apparently by a wild dog that breaks in and attacks him. Mason appears to call the coroner and asks for him to get there as soon as possible. Because of the weather and the late hour, Mrs. Jamison agrees to let Jimmy and Marjorie stay the night, Jimmy in Bill's room, and Marjorie in Joan's room. A little while later Hughes is killed in the same manner, seemingly by a wild dog. Jimmy attempts to call the coroner but the phone is not working, and upon closer inspection discovers the line has been cut, which leads him to suspect a dog is not the real killer.

Wentworth arrives at the tavern, he says that he left as soon as he received Mason's telegram. Mason is surprised, as he, Harrison, Hughes and Joan all got telegrams that say they are from Wentworth. Suddenly the lights go out, and Jamison says a fuse must have burned out. Jimmy searches outside and finds the dog that is supposedly responsible for the killings and puts a makeshift leash on him and takes him inside. Mason goes to search Hughes' room for a gun and is killed in the process, which rules out the dog as the killer. The lights then come back on again. Marjorie searches the guests luggage with Mrs. Jamison's help.

Jimmy begins to question the remaining guests to determine who might have motive, then a fist fight breaks out among them and Jimmy is knocked unconscious. Bill, Joan and Wentworth panic and try to leave the tavern but suddenly find themselves trapped inside by locked doors and barred windows. As Jimmy is regaining consciousness, Bill Joan and Wentworth turn to Jimmy for help, since he is a detective. Jimmy then tries to determine what reason someone would have to try to kill any of them and they admit to being jewel smugglers. Marjorie, who is still searching through the luggage, discovers jewels in Joan's suitcase.

Marjorie then searches Jamison's room and finds a dog's head, Jimmy accuses the wheel chair bound Jamison of being the real killer and he confesses. Meanwhile a man who has been lurking outside hides in the basement. Jimmy suspects Jamison confessed to cover up the real killer.[4][5][6]

Cast
Clara Kimball Young in Rogue's Tavern
Joan Woodbury in Rogue's Tavern
Barbara Pepper in Rogue's Tavern

References
  1. Raw, Laurence (2012). Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930-1960. Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland Incorporated Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 9780786490493.
  2. Davies, Clive (2015). Spinegrinder, The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. London, England, United Kingdom: Headpress. p. 996. ISBN 9781909394063.
  3. Svehla, Gary J. (2009). Mad About Movies Number 4. Parkville, Maryland, USA: Midnight Marquee Press. pp. 147–148. ISBN 9781936168163.
  4. Willis, Donald C. (2019). Chronology of Classic Horror Films: The 1930s. Parkville, Maryland, USA: Midnight Marquee Press. pp. 490–491. ISBN 978-1644300824.
  5. Maltin, Leonard (2015). Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide. New York, New York, USA: Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9780698197299.
  6. Turner, George Eugene; Price, Michael H. (1979). Forgotten Horrors, Early Talkie Chillers from Poverty Row. Cranbury, New Jersey: A.S. Barnes and Company, Inc. pp. 182–184. ISBN 9780498021367.
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