Not even the San Andreas fault could stop this being made!

Solid supernatural horror, held together by an understated performance from Lombard

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Lionel Atwill and Kathleen Burke in Murders in the Zoo (1933)

Theresa Harris, Jack Holt, and Fay Wray in Black Moon (1934)

Lionel Atwill and Fay Wray in The Vampire Bat (1933)

Boris Karloff and Lorna Gray in The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)

Jim Fitzpatrick, Jodi Knotts, and Corbin Timbrook in Supernatural (2005)

Edward G. Robinson, Charles Boyer, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Benchley, Robert Cummings, and Betty Field in Flesh and Fantasy (1943)

Gloria Stuart and Paul Lukas in Secret of the Blue Room (1933)

Bela Lugosi and Sally Blane in Night of Terror (1933)

Paulette Goddard in The Cat and the Canary (1939)

Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lester Matthews, and Irene Ware in The Raven (1935)

Boris Karloff in The Devil Commands (1941)

Lionel Atwill, Lee Tracy, and Fay Wray in Doctor X (1932)

Treat all supernatural beings with respect but keep aloof from them.

Randolph Scott, Carole Lombard, and Alan Dinehart in Supernatural (1933)

"Supernatural" Carole Lombard 1933 Paramount / **I.V.

Randolph Scott and Carole Lombard in Supernatural (1933)

Carole Lombard, Alan Dinehart, and Vivienne Osborne in Supernatural (1933)

Randolph Scott, Carole Lombard, Vivienne Osborne, and H.B. Warner in Supernatural (1933)

Carole Lombard and Alan Dinehart in Supernatural (1933)

Carole Lombard

Randolph Scott

Alan Dinehart

Garnett Weston

Harvey F. Thew

Brian Marlow

A serial black widow murderess returns to life in the body of a young woman to exact revenge on a former lover, a phony spiritualist who betrayed her.

Victor Halperin

Supernatural

In &quot;Supernatural,&quot; Carole Lombard stars as an heiress being extorted by a charlatan psychic claiming he is in communication with her deceased twin brother. While his plot is phony, her subsequent possession by an executed heiress is not--and the heiress has a vendetta against this fraudulent psychic.

&quot;Supernatural&quot; apparently had a troubled production, largely because Lombard felt the material was unsuitable for her comedy chops; though you wouldn&apos;t know it, as the result is a solid supernatural horror-melodrama that is anchored in an understated (and unexpected) raw performance from Lombard. The film&apos;s plot is rather routine, and some elements are a bit ridiculous (and ostensibly were even in 1933), but the real success of the film is that it manages to draw the audience in with its quietness. There are several scenes that linger on Lombard&apos;s character alone in the frame, and her nonverbal acting is highly communicative and serves as further evidence of what her talents were. While Lombard herself felt horror was a mismatch for her, I&apos;d politely disagree.

The film ramps up when her character schedules a followup seance with the fraud psychic and actually becomes possessed. It&apos;s all good fun, and peppered with some marginally spooky moments. The black-and-white photography is atmospheric and effective, and at times it reminded me (stylistically) of the Val Lewton horror films that would come the following decade. The &quot;possessed by a serial killer&quot; plot would rear its head in subsequent decades in such films as &quot;Witchboard&quot; (1986), and the similarities there are visible.

All in all, &quot;Supernatural&quot; is a rather underrated film in the horror canon, especially as far as pre-code films are concerned. It seems to have been relegated as a footnote in both the genre and in studies of Lombard&apos;s career, which is a shame because it is actually a well-made, formidably-acted, and generally impressive horror film. Its ability to turn small, quiet moments into grand gestures is something to behold, and Lombard&apos;s understated acting helps hold the drama and thrills together nicely. 8/10.

In "Supernatural," Carole Lombard stars as an heiress being extorted by a charlatan psychic claiming he is in communication with her deceased twin brother. While his plot is phony, her subsequent possession by an executed heiress is not--and the heiress has a vendetta against this fraudulent psychic.

"Supernatural" apparently had a troubled production, largely because Lombard felt the material was unsuitable for her comedy chops; though you wouldn't know it, as the result is a solid supernatural horror-melodrama that is anchored in an understated (and unexpected) raw performance from Lombard. The film's plot is rather routine, and some elements are a bit ridiculous (and ostensibly were even in 1933), but the real success of the film is that it manages to draw the audience in with its quietness. There are several scenes that linger on Lombard's character alone in the frame, and her nonverbal acting is highly communicative and serves as further evidence of what her talents were. While Lombard herself felt horror was a mismatch for her, I'd politely disagree.

The film ramps up when her character schedules a followup seance with the fraud psychic and actually becomes possessed. It's all good fun, and peppered with some marginally spooky moments. The black-and-white photography is atmospheric and effective, and at times it reminded me (stylistically) of the Val Lewton horror films that would come the following decade. The "possessed by a serial killer" plot would rear its head in subsequent decades in such films as "Witchboard" (1986), and the similarities there are visible.

All in all, "Supernatural" is a rather underrated film in the horror canon, especially as far as pre-code films are concerned. It seems to have been relegated as a footnote in both the genre and in studies of Lombard's career, which is a shame because it is actually a well-made, formidably-acted, and generally impressive horror film. Its ability to turn small, quiet moments into grand gestures is something to behold, and Lombard's understated acting helps hold the drama and thrills together nicely. 8/10.

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