Professional pollster Pete Marshall gets more than he bargained for when he heads deep into the Ozarks to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues.Professional pollster Pete Marshall gets more than he bargained for when he heads deep into the Ozarks to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues.Professional pollster Pete Marshall gets more than he bargained for when he heads deep into the Ozarks to investigate the disappearances of several of his colleagues.
Harry Allen
- Old Deaf Townsman
- (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin
- Vic Hardy
- (uncredited)
Jimmie Dundee
- Hardy Sympathizer
- (uncredited)
Tom Fadden
- Sheriff Murdock
- (uncredited)
James Flavin
- Police Officer
- (uncredited)
Francis Ford
- Lee - Old Townsman
- (uncredited)
Joel Friedkin
- Little Man
- (uncredited)
Arthur Hunnicutt
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Jerry James
- F.B.I. Man
- (uncredited)
Si Jenks
- 80-Year-Old Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe theme music for NPR's "All Things Considered" is identical to the melody of the nonsense song that is sung several times in this film ("Mares Eat Oats and Does Eat Oats").
- GoofsIn Elany's first scene, as she enters her grandmother's room, we see her clutching a leather briefcase. The close-up shot of the briefcase shows an embossed globe on the front, with "Trotter Poll" written above it, and "Hector P. Smedley" written below it, in large letters. As the camera changes from close-up to medium shot, the briefcase still has the globe, but now the lettering is missing.
- Quotes
Pete Marshall: On horse flies is / In comb bees is / On chest knob is / In knob keys is
[singsong child's chant that solves the mystery]
- ConnectionsFeatured in Auto Focus (2002)
Featured review
wacky beyond belief
"Murder, He Says," is a comedy from 1945 starring Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Marjorie Main, and Porter Hall.
MacMurray plays Pete Marshall, a pollster who goes looking for another employee who disappeared. He soon finds himself at the mercy of a bunch of inbreds who are looking for money hidden by a relative, Bonnie Fleagle, who is in prison. The matriarch, Ma (Marjorie Main) walks around with a whip to keep everybody in line. Everybody includes twin brothers, Mert and Bert, one of whom has a crick in his neck. This leads to a funny scene later.
Pete can't seem to get away from them, and they make him pretend he's Bonnie's boyfriend, hoping that grandma, whom Ma poisoned with something that makes her glow in the dark, knows where the money is.
Grandma gives Pete a sampler with a song on it, and something to quote for Bonnie. Meanwhile, another relative, Elany, seems to know the song, but the words she sings are nonsensical.
Things become more complicated when Bonnie (Helen Walker) escapes from prison and shows up. Except she's not Bonnie. Her father was accused of helping Bonnie Fleagle steal $70,000, and she wants to find it to clear his name. Pete is all for hightailing it out of there, but she wants to stay and find the loot. Everyone knuckles under to her until the real Bonnie (Barbara Pepper) shows up.
I perhaps wasn't in the mood for this comedy, but it was very funny anyway, if a little long. The scene at the dinner table is hilarious. I just don't understand how this glow in the dark stuff was supposed to work.
Anyway, the house is filled with hidden passages that everyone disappears in and appears from.
Fred MacMurray was perfect for this, a normal guy caught up in complete insanity. Helen Walker, whose career would suffer so badly later on, is terrific. Marjorie Main - off the wall with that whip. Brilliant.
The denouement is clever and a riot.
Helen Walker gave a ride to three soldiers on New Year's Eve 1946, and had a terrible accident where one soldier was killed and the other two injured. The surviving soldiers accused her of driving drunk and speeding, and she was put on trial. She was cleared, but her career was basically over. She died at 47.
In this film, she's on the verge of stardom and after "Murder, He Says," she was cast as the lead in a big film, "Heaven Only Knows," but the producers replaced her.
She's very good here -- if you get a chance to catch this film on TCM, don't miss it.
MacMurray plays Pete Marshall, a pollster who goes looking for another employee who disappeared. He soon finds himself at the mercy of a bunch of inbreds who are looking for money hidden by a relative, Bonnie Fleagle, who is in prison. The matriarch, Ma (Marjorie Main) walks around with a whip to keep everybody in line. Everybody includes twin brothers, Mert and Bert, one of whom has a crick in his neck. This leads to a funny scene later.
Pete can't seem to get away from them, and they make him pretend he's Bonnie's boyfriend, hoping that grandma, whom Ma poisoned with something that makes her glow in the dark, knows where the money is.
Grandma gives Pete a sampler with a song on it, and something to quote for Bonnie. Meanwhile, another relative, Elany, seems to know the song, but the words she sings are nonsensical.
Things become more complicated when Bonnie (Helen Walker) escapes from prison and shows up. Except she's not Bonnie. Her father was accused of helping Bonnie Fleagle steal $70,000, and she wants to find it to clear his name. Pete is all for hightailing it out of there, but she wants to stay and find the loot. Everyone knuckles under to her until the real Bonnie (Barbara Pepper) shows up.
I perhaps wasn't in the mood for this comedy, but it was very funny anyway, if a little long. The scene at the dinner table is hilarious. I just don't understand how this glow in the dark stuff was supposed to work.
Anyway, the house is filled with hidden passages that everyone disappears in and appears from.
Fred MacMurray was perfect for this, a normal guy caught up in complete insanity. Helen Walker, whose career would suffer so badly later on, is terrific. Marjorie Main - off the wall with that whip. Brilliant.
The denouement is clever and a riot.
Helen Walker gave a ride to three soldiers on New Year's Eve 1946, and had a terrible accident where one soldier was killed and the other two injured. The surviving soldiers accused her of driving drunk and speeding, and she was put on trial. She was cleared, but her career was basically over. She died at 47.
In this film, she's on the verge of stardom and after "Murder, He Says," she was cast as the lead in a big film, "Heaven Only Knows," but the producers replaced her.
She's very good here -- if you get a chance to catch this film on TCM, don't miss it.
helpful•20
- blanche-2
- Jan 7, 2016
- How long is Murder, He Says?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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