Behind the Mask

1932

Crime / Horror / Mystery / Romance

4
IMDb Rating 5.9/10 10 507 507

undercover coffin drugs federal agent pre-code

Plot summary

A Secret Service agent nabs a scalpel-happy doctor who runs drugs in caskets.

Director

John Francis Dillon Photo
John Francis Dillon

Top cast

Willard Robertson Photo
Willard Robertson as Capt. E.J. Hawkes
Boris Karloff Photo
Boris Karloff as Jim Henderson
Edward Van Sloan Photo
Edward Van Sloan as Dr. August Steiner / Dr. Alec Munsell / Mr. X
Thomas E. Jackson Photo
Thomas E. Jackson as Agent Burke
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
629.49 MB
1280*958
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 8 min
Seeds ...
1.14 GB
1444*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 8 min
Seeds 6

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by wdbasinger 7 / 10

Creepy Columbia Potboiler

A macabre mystery with many elements of the supernatural/shudder scientific genres.Boris Karloff plays a lead henchman in the service of a mysterious Mr. X. His performance does not suggest a red herring role, but he is sinister enough as a grim-faced gangster to keep one's interest throughout the picture. Early on, it seems possible that the sinister Dr. Steiner played by Edward van Sloan may seem to be a more likely candidate for Mr. X., but his performance raises enough doubts to keep the viewer in a constant state of suspense.A very fine "B" feature for the night owl crowd.7/10.Dan Basinger
Reviewed by Coventry 6 / 10

Ambitious '30s mystery/thriller

Ah, there's nothing like a good old-fashioned creepy & atmospheric horror tale from the early nineteen-thirties starring the almighty Boris Karloff! Be forewarned, however, that this "Behind the Mask" is not really a horror movie and that Karloff in fact only plays a supportive character – albeit quite a menacing one. Does that mean that the film isn't worth checking out? Nope, not at all, because "Behind the Mask" definitely does contain quite a few sinister twists and details in its overall very ambitious and compelling crime/mystery screenplay. A whole bunch of elite federal agents are trying to unravel a large-scaled drug smuggling network led by the nefarious Mr. X. Special agent Jack Hart takes the identity of small thug Quinn and goes undercover in a state prison where he meets Jim Henderson (Karloff); one of Mr. X's principal henchmen. The organization of Mr. X is most certainly evil, as the criminal mastermind also runs an unorthodox clinic where the patients are murdered and their coffins stuffed with narcotics. The script from the hand of Jo Swerling – also the writer of Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" – superficially seems extremely ambitious, but rather many elements are nevertheless tacky (like the forced love-story between the secret agent and one of the minions' daughter) and/or predictable (for example the identity of Mr. X is not really that secretive). Top-billed stars Boris Karloff and Jack Holt are decent enough, but the show is stolen by Edward Van Sloan in a fiendish double role, and by Bertha Mann! She depicts a creepy maid who's strategically put in the house of Dr. X's unreliable collaborators. She closely observes everyone in the house and reports to her employer via a radio installation in her room.
Reviewed by Ale fish 5 / 10

Efficient thriller re-teaming Karloff & Van Sloan shortly after the success of 'Frankenstein.'

What must have started life as a pretty ordinary crime picture is dressed up for the box office with some of the popular flourishes of the day such as electronic gadgets and a mysterious criminal mastermind.Karloff gives excellent value as villain's chief henchman and thankfully gets plenty of screen time.Although director and cast were all well experienced in pictures, the performances tend to be on the dull side, particularly Jack Holt in the lead. The pace of individual scenes is a little slow too, almost as if everyone concerned were making a conscious effort to hold back from the excesses of the silent days.No classic, but you could do worse.
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