Mystery | Thriller | Horror | USA | B&W | Talkie | 93min | Director: Lionel Barrymore Cast: Ernest Torrence, Roland Young, Dorothy Sebastian, Polly Moran, Natalie Moorhead, Sôjin Kamiyama, Boris Karloff (uncredited) On a dark and foggy London night, someone tries to strangle Lord Montague (Roland Young), but he escapes. Only to discover the four other men who did get killed were old regimental comrades in Gallipoli. When Scotland Yard gets Monty to gather the other nine surviving officers at his home, another murder occurs, but no one else has entered the house. Now, they must determine who the murderer is. One of a handful of films directed by Lionel Barrymore, The Unholy Night is an uneven mystery thriller from the earliest days of talkie films. Not a great movie by any means, but has curiosity value. For reasons known only to MGM, Boris Karloff, prominently featured in a key supporting role, is not credited on screen, but his name is more sensibly listed in ninth credited position in the Variety review in 1929. The likeliest explanation is that all the actors are billed according to their respective "groups," but since Karloff was not in any of them, he was simply overlooked when the credits were being prepared. Still, an odd exclusion. Like many films created during the initial wave of talking pictures, The Unholy Night was released in both silent and talking versions. The talkie version has survived, the silent version is considered a lost film. Director Lionel Barrymore, whose acting career began to take off in the sound era, was considered an innovator in the early talkie genre, inventing (along with several other industry figures) an emancipating sound boom. He was also notable for not going overboard with the fresh novelty of sound with the kind of constant music and chatter that marred some of the earliest talkie productions, and instead allowed silence to also intrude in his films when necessary. aka: The Green Ghost and The Regiment of Doom (re-release title).