Strangers of the Evening (1932)

Directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and based on Tiffany Thayer’s novel The Illustrious Corpse, Strangers of the Evening is a quirky blend of murder mystery, dark comedy, and pre-Code eccentricity. Released by Quadruple Film Corp., this 70-minute oddity dives into the strange happenings at a city morgue where corpses don’t seem to stay put.

Plot Summary
When bodies begin mysteriously disappearing from the morgue, local authorities are baffled. The story follows a cast of eccentric characters including a bumbling detective, a suspicious doctor, and a woman with secrets. As the investigation unfolds, the film mixes whodunit suspense with moments of slapstick and satire, culminating in a twist that ties together multiple storylines—including mistaken identities and a corpse that may not be so dead after all.

Cast Highlights

• ZaSu Pitts as Sybil Smith — bringing her signature comic timing and expressive face
• Eugene Pallette as Detective Brubacher — gravel-voiced and perpetually flustered
• Lucien Littlefield as Frank “Snookie” Daniels
• Tully Marshall, Miriam Seegar, Theodore von Eltz, and Warner Richmond round out the ensemble

Behind-the-Scenes Trivia

• The film was re-titled “The Hidden Corpse” for its 1952 television broadcast in Los Angeles
• Based on the novel The Illustrious Corpse, though the adaptation leans heavily into comedic territory
• Cinematography by Arthur Edeson, who also shot Frankenstein (1931) and Casablanca (1942)
• The film uses newspaper inserts and shadowy silhouettes to advance the plot—classic noir techniques in a pre-noir setting