The 1987 suspense film 'The Bedroom Window' has one of the most ingenious premises I've ever seen. We know the killer's identity all along, but we can't guess what will happen next. This 1924 movie (otherwise totally unrelated) has the same title, but this 'Bedroom Window' is meant to be a whodunnit rather than a suspense film. Unfortunately, it fails on all counts. 'The Bedroom Window' (1924 version) is directed by William C. de Mille (lower case 'de'), who conclusively proves here that he's far less talented than his brother Cecil B. (upper case 'De') DeMille.
Unappealing actress Ethel Wales plays Matilda Jones, who writes best-selling mystery novels under the name Rufus Rome. We know she writes best-sellers, because at regular intervals she receives cheques for $5,000. (I doubt that many authors in 1924 made this much.) When her neighbour James Martin is killed by a bullet fired through his bedroom window, Matilda decides to solve the case herself. (The police have the day off, apparently.) She dons a weird chequerwork costume which is apparently meant to be the female equivalent of Sherlock's deerstalker, then she promptly breaks into the crime scene. To recreate the fatal bullet's path, she climbs in through the bedroom window. When anybody challenges her sleuth credentials, she haughtily announces 'I'm Rufus Rome!' So that's all right, then.
Handsome Ricardo Cortez plays Bob Delano, a local schlub who gets arrested for the murder. We see Bob cooling his heels in a nice roomy gaol that looks like a pleasant place to spend the weekend. Bob's girlfriend is the murdered man's daughter Ruth, played by May McAvoy: a very pretty blonde with no discernible acting talent. Some unfortunate 'comic' relief is supplied by Mattie Peters as a stereotypical black maidservant.
This movie reminds me of a very bad episode of 'Murder, She Wrote'. There's an attempt at a genuine mystery here, with clues for the audience to discover ... but there are huge gaps in the script's logic, and the identity of the murderer is painfully obvious ... largely due to the bad acting of all concerned. This movie would have been better if none of the cast had been tipped off in advance to the murderer's identity. I'll rate this 'Bedroom Window' only 1 point out of 10. Skip this clinker and rent the splendid 1987 movie with the same title.