Is there such a thing as a slapstick murder mystery? I had to convince myself that this was more than just a crime drama with some comic relief thrown in. There's a fair amount of witty dialog and interesting curve-balls thrown at the viewer, like the screaming peacock on Alma Brehmer's balcony. Thinking about that now, why would a peacock be there in the first place?
The see-saw between humor and drama may not appeal to a lot of viewers, and I have to admit it was distracting until I decided to go with the flow. Then it became a confident battle of wits between attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) and the unknown killer attempting to set him up for murder. For a 1939 'B' mystery this one was stacked with a talented cast, O'Brien leading the way with Edward Arnold, Alan Dinehart, Claire Dodd, Phyllis Brooks, Eve Arden and Broderick Crawford before he began to look like Broderick Crawford. I have to side with the prevailing opinion here that Ruth Terry probably wore out her welcome as Webb's wannabe girlfriend of eighteen years and two months.
I'll have to watch this again to better understand how the resolution makes sense. The identity of the murderer seemed like a forced twist to disavow the other suspects and I won't spoil it here, you'll have to catch it yourself. Then for a real head spinner, O'Brien's character has a sudden change of heart and puts a final move on Miss Seymour (Terry) to close out the picture. Like I said, a slapstick murder mystery.
The see-saw between humor and drama may not appeal to a lot of viewers, and I have to admit it was distracting until I decided to go with the flow. Then it became a confident battle of wits between attorney John Webb (Pat O'Brien) and the unknown killer attempting to set him up for murder. For a 1939 'B' mystery this one was stacked with a talented cast, O'Brien leading the way with Edward Arnold, Alan Dinehart, Claire Dodd, Phyllis Brooks, Eve Arden and Broderick Crawford before he began to look like Broderick Crawford. I have to side with the prevailing opinion here that Ruth Terry probably wore out her welcome as Webb's wannabe girlfriend of eighteen years and two months.
I'll have to watch this again to better understand how the resolution makes sense. The identity of the murderer seemed like a forced twist to disavow the other suspects and I won't spoil it here, you'll have to catch it yourself. Then for a real head spinner, O'Brien's character has a sudden change of heart and puts a final move on Miss Seymour (Terry) to close out the picture. Like I said, a slapstick murder mystery.