First thing we need to get out of the way, which several astute reviewers on the IMDb have already addressed-- the music hall setting in this picture is NOT Radio City Music Hall, as it has been incorrectly identified on the film's wiki page. There were other notable music halls in New York and London at this time, some of them even featuring figure skating routines, but Radio City was not one of them.
Republic ingenue Vera Ralston, a former Czech figure skater in the Olympics who toured with the Ice Capades, is perfectly cast in the lead role. Miss Ralston had already been expanding her film resume in other genres, such as the horror picture THE LADY AND THE MONSTER; and the western drama DAKOTA. So this was a return to the ice, and it would be her last such role.
Something Vera Ralston doesn't get enough credit for is her sheer gracefulness, not only as a skater but also as a lady who brings a special pure quality to all her performances. In this production she is cast as an ice show star who is caught up in scandal.
A former producer is blackmailing her and when she goes to see him to back out of their deal, she finds his dead body in his penthouse apartment. She's in the wrong place at the wrong time, and unless her boyfriend (William Marshall) helps her prove her innocence, the killing will be pinned on her by a police inspector (William Gargan).
There are several interesting subplots. One involves the relationship Ralston's character has with the other girls that share her dressing room. One is a sardonic, jaded gal (Helen Walker) who has seen and heard it all. If she hadn't latched on to a husband yet, she would probably get out of the business.
We also have a neophyte understudy, played by former MGM contract player Ann Rutherford. Like Ralston, she also has a reason to hate the man that has died. There's a great musical number in which Miss Rutherford, without the use of a double, performs opposite Ralston. They engage in a fencing match, and it's a lot of fun to watch their highly coordinated swordplay while they spin around on skates.
Another good subplot involves Nancy Kelly and Jerome Cowan. Cowan's character is a reporter whose wife Kelly has also been blackmailed by the victim. As a dutiful but possessive husband, he will do anything to keep his wife's name out of the papers and to ensure she doesn't go down for murder. They're both red herrings, since the actual culprit turns out to be someone we'd never suspect.
Throughout the film's 84-minute running time, there are a lot of atmospheric touches. As well as a lot of engaging banter. The picture never slows down or feels as if the plot is dragged out. If anything, this is a story that could have used more time to explore the different themes suggested by the main characters.
The reason MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL works so well is because it does more than those frothy ice pictures at 20th Century Fox starring Sonja Henie. It contains an ordinate amount of spectacle, but it goes beyond the pageantry. It plums the emotional depths of beautiful but troubled people in a dark postwar world.
Republic ingenue Vera Ralston, a former Czech figure skater in the Olympics who toured with the Ice Capades, is perfectly cast in the lead role. Miss Ralston had already been expanding her film resume in other genres, such as the horror picture THE LADY AND THE MONSTER; and the western drama DAKOTA. So this was a return to the ice, and it would be her last such role.
Something Vera Ralston doesn't get enough credit for is her sheer gracefulness, not only as a skater but also as a lady who brings a special pure quality to all her performances. In this production she is cast as an ice show star who is caught up in scandal.
A former producer is blackmailing her and when she goes to see him to back out of their deal, she finds his dead body in his penthouse apartment. She's in the wrong place at the wrong time, and unless her boyfriend (William Marshall) helps her prove her innocence, the killing will be pinned on her by a police inspector (William Gargan).
There are several interesting subplots. One involves the relationship Ralston's character has with the other girls that share her dressing room. One is a sardonic, jaded gal (Helen Walker) who has seen and heard it all. If she hadn't latched on to a husband yet, she would probably get out of the business.
We also have a neophyte understudy, played by former MGM contract player Ann Rutherford. Like Ralston, she also has a reason to hate the man that has died. There's a great musical number in which Miss Rutherford, without the use of a double, performs opposite Ralston. They engage in a fencing match, and it's a lot of fun to watch their highly coordinated swordplay while they spin around on skates.
Another good subplot involves Nancy Kelly and Jerome Cowan. Cowan's character is a reporter whose wife Kelly has also been blackmailed by the victim. As a dutiful but possessive husband, he will do anything to keep his wife's name out of the papers and to ensure she doesn't go down for murder. They're both red herrings, since the actual culprit turns out to be someone we'd never suspect.
Throughout the film's 84-minute running time, there are a lot of atmospheric touches. As well as a lot of engaging banter. The picture never slows down or feels as if the plot is dragged out. If anything, this is a story that could have used more time to explore the different themes suggested by the main characters.
The reason MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL works so well is because it does more than those frothy ice pictures at 20th Century Fox starring Sonja Henie. It contains an ordinate amount of spectacle, but it goes beyond the pageantry. It plums the emotional depths of beautiful but troubled people in a dark postwar world.