Best Mystery Movies of 1930

When a woman is convicted of murder, one of the jurors selected to serve on the murder-trial jury believes the accused, an aspiring actress, is innocent of the crime and takes it upon himself to apprehend the real killer.

John Nelson, a well-to-do businessman, is escorting a woman he knows as Ethel Barry to the door of her apartment suite when a man steps out of the shadows and angrily demands to know where she has been. The embarrassed Nelson excuses himself and goes to his rooms in the same hotel. The woman rushes into his apartment followed by the man who met her in the hall. The man threatens her with violence and Nelson comes to her defense. In the ensuing fight, the man is knocked out of the window and falls to his death to the pavement many stories down. He is charged with the killing and his only witness that can prove self-defense for him has disappeared, and can not be found.

A ruthless, crooked stockbroker is murdered at his luxurious country estate, and detective Philo Vance just happens to be there; he decides to find out who killed him.

The villainous master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu sets out to destroy the people he holds responsible for the death of his family.

The Cuckoo Bird residing in an old clock in a creepy old mansion is shot dead by an unknown assailant; Flip the Frog is called in to investigate (and finds more than he bargained for). |

The murders start with the body of Robin. He is found with a arrow through the heart, but Vance deduces that the body was placed and not found where he was killed. The note found dealing with the murder was part of a nursery rhyme and signed by 'Bishop'. The only witness may have been Mrs. Drukker and Adolph, but they are not talking. As the murders progress, each one is accompanied by a nursery rhyme. It is up to Philo Vance to unravel the clues and unmask the identity of the murderer 'Bishop'.

The Arizona Kid (Warner Baxter) carries out his mission as a Robin Hood-type bandit while posing as a wealthy and carefree miner. He falls for an eastern girl, Virginia Hoyt (Carole Lombard), accompanied by presumably her brother, Dick Hoyt (Theodore von Eltz), actually her husband. The Kid's mine is raided and two of his friends are killed and he learns that Dick and Virginia are the culprits...

A fog-shrouded house provides the setting for this early talkies thriller.

Margaret Holt and her brother Victor set out to smash a narcotics ring responsible for their father's death. Young reporter John Howell and eccentric mystery writer Winthrop Clavering help unravel the truth about the murder.

An exhaustingly cantankerous old man solves a jewel robbery.

Kitty Kellermann is put on trial for murdering her husband, a failed painter. When her counsel resigns from his mandate, the mysterious Peter Bille steps in, though it becomes apparent that he actually is not an advocate but Kitty's lover and moreover confesses the murder. The widow has to admit that the pictures by her deceased spouse sell much better, only for him to suddenly appear alive.

Disappearances and strange goings-on in a spooky old mansion.

In this entry in the Lone Wolf series, the first to have a soundtrack, the jealousies of the King and the coquettish Queen are chronicled. When His Majesty learns that his wife has given the ring he gave to her to her lover, the King plans a large ball and demands the she wear the token. As her lover is a military attache, he is not in the palace, and the queen must send her lady-in-waiting to bring it back. En route, the lady meets a thief and they team up. She does not know that he has been dispatched by the King to steal ring from the attache.

The film depicts the character of Bulldog Drummond, a British adventurer and is based on the novel Temple Tower by Herman Cyril McNeile.

A detective poses as an ex-convict to expose the head of a benevolent society as a fence.

A series of murders that take place in an old, dark mansion are suspected of being committed by an ape. (lost film)

A film Directed by Leslie S. Hiscott.

Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale, a bank employee, and police detective Anderson. When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.

Captain Clive Branch, United States Marine Corps, is stationed at a Marine base in Haiti, and is having affairs with two women, Brenda Ritchie and Helen Arnold, each of whom is married to a Marine Captain. One of the husbands is murdered, and Branch, Helen and Brenda each find themselves high on the list of suspects.

An aristocrat tries to prevent her sister's divorce by attempting to recover a diamond necklace, which is being used as incriminating evidence against her.

A wealthy young club man is engaged to a senator’s daughter but becomes involved with a gang of blackmailers.

The story starts with a prologue set in 1889 in which we see an angry husband murdering his wife's lover. The setting then moves to 1929, just as an antiques dealer Philip Vantine (John St. Polis) has finished moving into the same house where the 1889 murder occurred.