''The Patient in Room 18'' is a 1938 American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Bobby Connolly William Harold "Bobby" Connolly (July 4, 1897 – February 29, 1944) was an American choreographer and director, first for Broadway musicals and then for films. Connolly was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Dance Direction, for his wo ...

and

Crane Wilbur Crane Wilbur (November 17, 1886 – October 18, 1973) was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York. Wilbur is best remembered for playing Harry Marvin in '' The Perils of Pauline''. He ...

. It stars

Patric Knowles Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...

and

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films ''San Quentin'' (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) with James Cagne ...

. The screenplay written by Eugene Solow and Robertson White was based on a 1929 novel of the same name by author

Mignon G. Eberhart Mignon Good Eberhart (July 6, 1899, Lincoln, Nebraska – October 8, 1996, Greenwich, Connecticut) was an American author of mystery novels. She had one of the longest careers (from the 1920s to the 1980s) among major American mystery writers. Ear ...

Plot

Private investigator Lance O'Leary (Patric Knowles) suffers a nervous breakdown from being unable to solve a case and his doctor has him hospitalized for rest. It just happens to be the same place where his lady friend, Sara Keate (Ann Sheridan), is the head nurse. The first night there a murder takes place as wealthy Mr. Warren is killed in his room and $100,000 worth of medicinal

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

on his chest is stolen. Also, head doctor Dr. Lethany is murdered as well. Everyone on the staff seems to have a motive and O'Leary must work with combative Inspector Foley (Cliff Clark) to solve the crime.

Cast

as Lance O'Leary *

as Nurse Sara Keate *Eric Stanley as Seymour Bentley (O'Leary's valet) *

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

as James 'Jim' Warren *

Rosella Towne Rosella Towne (January 20, 1918 – August 29, 2014) was an American film actress. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio. Her film career began in 1937, after making a screen test for Warner Bros. and signing a contract for the studio. At first she ma ...

as Nurse Maida Day *Jean Benedict as Mrs. Carol Lethany *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Dr. Bahman *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Inspector Foley *Harland Tucker as Dr. Arthur Lethany *

Edward Raquello Edward Raquello (born Edward Zylberberg Kucharski; 14 May 1900 – 24 August 1976) was a Polish-American actor of stage and screen.Hanke p.104 Raquello emigrated to the United States in March 1926. Although from Eastern Europe, he specialized in ...

as Dr. Fred 'Freddie' Harker *Vickie Lester as Nurse Taylor *

Edward McWade Edward McWade (January 14, 1865 – May 17, 1943) was a writer, stage actor and an American film actor. Biography McWade was born in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1865. His father was notable stage actor Robert McWade Sr. (1835-1913) and ...

as Frank Warren *

Ralph Sanford Ralph Dayton Sanford (May 21, 1899 – June 20, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films and in at least 200 episodes on television between 1930 and 1960, mostly bit parts or supporting roles. Sanford frequently ...

as Det. Donahue *

Frank Orth Frank Orth (February 21, 1880 – March 17, 1962) was an American actor born in Philadelphia. He is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Inspector Faraday in the 1951-1953 television series '' Boston Blackie''. Career By 1897, Ort ...

as Joe Higgins

Release

The film was released theatrically by Warner Bros. in January 1938. It was never officially released on any home video format until issued by the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

in October 2010 as part of the six-film DVD-R collection ''Warner Bros. Horror/Mystery Double Features''. The film was followed by the sequel

Mystery House ''Mystery House'' is an adventure game released by On-Line Systems in 1980. It was designed, written and illustrated by Roberta Williams, and programmed by Ken Williams for the Apple II. ''Mystery House'' is the first graphical adventure ga ...

in May 1938.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patient in Room 18, The 1938 films 1930s crime films 1938 mystery films 1938 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels American mystery films Films set in hospitals American crime films Films directed by Bobby Connolly 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun American detective films