The Patient in Room 18

1938 "$100,000 worth of radium vanishes...three men are mysteriously killed...a corpse comes back from the dead...and it's only the beginning folks, only the beginning!"
5.9| 0h57m| en
Details

Choreographer Bob Connolly and prolific screenwriter Crane Wilbur teamed up on the direction of Warner Bros.' The Patient in Room 18. Patric Knowles delivers a delightfully comic performance as Lance, an outwardly normal young man obsessed with detective stories. When his obsession threatens to lapse over into lunacy, Lance is sent to the hospital for a nice long rest. It isn't long before he gets mixed up in a genuine murder mystery, using his second-hand knowhow to solve the case. Up-and-coming Ann Sheridan is quite amusing as Lance's nurse and confidante, while the murderer is played by a fellow who is usually cast as the murder victim.

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Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Rijndri Load of rubbish!!
Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
mark.waltz I wouldn't feel very safe in the hospital here where Ann Sheridan works as head nurse. Murderers slip easily in and out, and as the drunken security guard peaks in the window, his fate is instantly sealed as well. Yes, it's a dark and stormy night, and as nurse Sheridan, locked in a hospital room, crawls out a window, she comes back in totally drenched and seems to just continue her duties. The murdered patient was strapped in bed with medical radium attached to his chest, and the head of the hospital is accused of the killing. The various subplots involving unfaithful spouses, a detective (Patric Knowles) who sleepwalks in ghastly pajamas and all round unethical behavior at a place of medical healing. Knowles and Sheridan spar somewhat amusingly, but none of the other characters seem to be really well developed even if the drunken security guard and Knowles' valet offer a few funny lines in their brief time on screen. The majority of the plot escaped me within less than 24 hours so I had to research it further to remind myself of what I had just wasted an hour on. Like Busby Berkeley with several dramas the same year, Warner Brothers gave the direction of this non-musical to another dance director on their payroll, Bobby Connelly, showing almost a desperation in which to wrap up their contract since their musical unit was pretty much kaput by 1938.
JohnHowardReid This movie has two directors: Bobby Connolly started the film but when he was needed to go on location in Canada for the Technicolor short, "Romance Road", Crane Wilbur took his place. Fortunately, both directors had much the same style and both entrusted actually blocking their scenes, i.e. lining up the players in attractive compositions, to their cameraman – in this case, the very competent James Van Trees. So, it's utterly impossible to tell who directed what. Not that it matters in the slightest. The movie moves reasonably fast, the players are well-versed in their customary roles – nice to see Ann Sheridan, a little more animated than usual, walking down the hospital corridors, bright and breezy as the patient's nurse, plus Cliff Clark as the inspector, Charles Trowbridge as Doctor Bahman. In fact the whole cast is not only competent, but convincing. Even Patric Knowles, more animated than usual as our bed-bound patient, delivers a pleasing performance. True, the movie has a short running time (only 58 minutes), but there are just enough thrills and mystery to keep the viewer's sharp attention – even while Miss Sheridan is not on the screen. (Available on an excellent Warner Archive DVD).
David (Handlinghandel) Don't worry. This won't make you fear hospitals. It is just a tepid variation on the standard romantic mystery/comedy. Hidden radium. Doctors who are maybe good and maybe bad. Servants who may be servants or may be something else. It is truly standard issue. Ann Sheridan's name in the cast list drew me to this. But she is very subdued. Patric Knowles is OK but not very exciting. The supporting cast is OK, too. But just OK. And the plot is adequate. It holds together, though it is at times a bit confusing.The title is intriguing. And the director did some fine work -- but as a writer. It won't kill you but don't expect it to cure anything, either.
howdymax It must be difficult to cast support players in a movie where even the stars are B List. Warner's does it's best with stock players like Cliff Clark, Charles Trowbridge, Frank Orth, and John Ridgely. All reliable - all competent. Ann Sheridan as the love interest does well enough. There is something appealing about her. The problem lies with Patric Knowles. For those of us that remember him fondly as Will Scarlett in The Adventures of Robin Hood this movie, as well as so many other efforts, are a disappointment. Warner Bros continued to try to find a niche for him - and failed. They tried him as a pathetic coward and weakling in Five Came Back. They tried him in a half dozen light romantic comedies - no luck. He eventually fizzled into obscure supporting roles. Too bad. He was a genuinely likable guy.Oh, the movie. Well, it's a medical mystery. At 60 minutes running time, it had no choice but to move at a rapid pace. That doesn't make it good, it just makes it short. I happen to be a fan of these potboilers, but there ain't many of us. You have to wonder where they dig these things up from. Buried deep in some film library until some 3rd assistant researcher digs it out. It sits in a cardboard box in some programmers office until he totally runs out of ideas for the 2am slot. He tosses into the que as a filler and nobody notices. Bingo! It makes air and I'm thrilled.This movie was made in 1938 and it really is dated. The men walk around the house in tuxedos and dressing gowns. All the cops have a New York Irish accent and smoke cigars. All rich people had white telephones. Bodies fall out of the closet. The medical procedures make one shudder. For example: A patient has a mystery medical condition and they tape 100K worth of Radium to his chest. As I recall, radium was a miracle cure for everything back then.If I sound like I'm down on this movie, I didn't mean to. Movies like this one couldn't be made anymore. There is more acting and writing talent in this 3 week wonder than you will find in most movies made today. You don't have to take it seriously, but take the time to watch it.