Murder, He Says

Last updated
Murder, He Says
Murderhesays poster.jpg
Directed by George Marshall
Screenplay by Lou Breslow
Story byJack Moffitt
Produced byE.D. Leshin
Starring Fred MacMurray
Helen Walker
Marjorie Main
Cinematography Theodor Sparkuhl
Edited by Leroy Stone
Music by Robert Emmett Dolan
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 23, 1945 (1945-06-23)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Murder, He Says is a 1945 American black comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker and Marjorie Main. [1] It is about a murderous rural family and the hapless pollster who becomes entangled in their hunt for a cache of money. It was filmed in the spring of 1944, but was held back for a year because Paramount had a backlog of product and felt it was more important to get war-related films released first, lest they suddenly become dated by the impending end of combat.

Contents

Plot

Peter Marshall (Fred MacMurray), who works for the Trotter Poll ("like the Gallup Poll, but not as fast"), is sent out to find a missing co-worker, Hector Smedley. He goes to see the last family the man was supposed to interview, the nutty and murderous Fleagles. There he runs afoul of Mert and Bert Fleagle (both played by Peter Whitney), the gun-toting twin sons of Mamie Fleagle Smithers Johnson (Marjorie Main).

As matriarch of the clan Mamie insists that Peter, to escape death at the hands of Mert or Bert, pretend to be the boyfriend of jailed Bonnie Fleagle in order to gain the confidence of her dying grandmother (Mabel Paige). Grandma Fleagle has hidden $70,000 stolen by Bonnie and her now-executed father, but refuses to divulge where to her unwanted relations for a very good reason: she tells Pete that she has been poisoned by them. Before she dies, she teaches Pete a nonsensical song which is also known to Elany Fleagle (Jean Heather), Mamie's dimwitted daughter.

The Fleagles are sure Grandma told Pete where the money is hidden and keep him captive. Then, a woman claiming to be Bonnie shows up, also looking for the loot. When she gets Pete alone for questioning, she reveals she is actually Claire Matthews (Helen Walker). Her innocent father was maliciously implicated by Bonnie's father in the bank robbery. Pete wants to escape, now that they are alone, but Claire insists on staying. If she can retrieve the money, she can exonerate her father.

The Fleagles try to poison Claire at dinner, but Pete accidentally discovers that all but one of their plates have been poisoned (the poison glows in the dark); only the dish in front of Mamie's third husband, Mr. Johnson (Porter Hall), is safe to eat. Johnson slips away, but is soon found glowing and dead.

The uneasy situation is further complicated when the real Bonnie Fleagle (Barbara Pepper) breaks out of prison and comes for her money. She makes Pete sing the song and she understands the seemingly meaningless lyrics. Pete gets away, and he deciphers the clues hidden in the words, from which Claire finds a key to the safety deposit box. Soon, all of the Fleagles, including Mr. Johnson (who had faked his death), are chasing Pete and Claire through the various secret passageways of the house. The plucky pair are able to drop each of their pursuers into a hay baling machine, from which they emerge safely.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<i>Strong Poison</i> 1930 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers

Strong Poison is a 1930 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her fifth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and the first in which Harriet Vane appears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Neill Cream</span> Scottish-Canadian serial murderer (1850–1892)

Thomas Neill Cream, also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-Canadian medical doctor and serial killer who poisoned his victims with strychnine. Cream murdered up to ten people in three countries, targeting mostly lower-class women, prostitutes and pregnant women seeking abortions. He was convicted and sentenced to death, and was hanged on 15 November 1892.

<i>Born to Kill</i> (1947 film) 1947 film noir directed by Robert Wise

Born to Kill is a 1947 RKO Pictures American film noir starring Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor and Walter Slezak with Esther Howard, Elisha Cook Jr., and Audrey Long in supporting roles. The film was director Robert Wise's first film noir production, preceding his later work on The Set-Up (1949) and The Captive City (1952).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Pepper</span> American actress (1915–1969)

Barbara Pepper was an American stage, television, radio, and film actress. She is best known as the first Doris Ziffel on the sitcom Green Acres.

<i>Stage Door Canteen</i> (film) 1943 film by Frank Borzage

Stage Door Canteen is a 1943 American World War II film with musical numbers and other entertainment interspersed with dramatic scenes by a largely unknown cast. The film was produced by Sol Lesser's Principal Artists Productions and directed by Frank Borzage. The film features many celebrity cameo appearances but primarily relates a simple drama set in the famed New York City restaurant and nightclub for American and Allied servicemen. Six bands are featured. The score and the original song, "We Mustn't Say Goodbye", were nominated for Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mamie Till</span> American schoolteacher and mother of Emmett Till

Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley was an American educator and activist. She was the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old teenager murdered in Mississippi on August 28, 1955, after accusations that he had whistled at a Caucasian grocery store cashier named Carolyn Bryant. For Emmett's funeral in Chicago, Mamie Till insisted that the casket containing his body be left open, because, in her words, "I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby."

<i>The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap</i> 1947 film by Charles Barton

The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap is a 1947 American comedy western film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello alongside Marjorie Main and Audrey Young. It was released on October 8 and distributed by Universal-International.

<i>Murder in the Music Hall</i> 1946 film by John English

Murder in the Music Hall is a 1946 American musical mystery film directed by John English and starring Vera Ralston, William Marshall and Helen Walker. The film involves a murder in Radio City Music Hall with The Rockettes as suspects.

<i>Just Before Dawn</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by William Castle

Just Before Dawn (1946) is the sixth Crime Doctor film produced by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Castle and written by Eric Taylor and Aubrey Wisberg. The film stars Warner Baxter, Adele Roberts, Mona Barrie and Martin Kosleck. It is also known as Exposed by the Crime Doctor.

<i>For Petes Sake</i> (film) 1974 film by Peter Yates

For Pete's Sake is a 1974 American screwball comedy film starring Barbra Streisand and directed by Peter Yates. The screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Maurice Richlin chronicles the misadventures of a Brooklyn housewife. In 1977, it was used as the basis for the Hindi film Aap Ki Khatir.

"New Amsterdam" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Mad Men. It was written by Lisa Albert and directed by Tim Hunter. The episode originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 9, 2007.

<i>Murder on the Blackboard</i> 1934 film by George Archainbaud

Murder on the Blackboard is a 1934 American pre-Code mystery/comedy film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school. It was based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Palmer. It features popular actor Bruce Cabot in one of his first post-King Kong roles, as well as Gertrude Michael, Regis Toomey, and Edgar Kennedy.

<i>True Confession</i> 1937 film

True Confession is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Carole Lombard, Fred MacMurray, and John Barrymore. It was based on the 1934 play Mon Crime, written by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. In 1946 it was remade as Cross My Heart.

"Achilles Heel" is the eighth episode of the first season of the psychological thriller TV series Homeland. It originally aired on Showtime on November 20, 2011.

<i>Mom</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Mom is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker that aired on CBS from September 23, 2013, to May 13, 2021, lasting eight seasons. Set in Napa, California, it follows dysfunctional mother/daughter duo Bonnie and Christy Plunkett, who, after having been estranged for years while both struggled with addiction, attempt to pull their lives and their relationship together by trying to stay sober and attending Alcoholics Anonymous. It stars Anna Faris and Allison Janney in the leading roles, with Mimi Kennedy, Jaime Pressly, Beth Hall, William Fichtner, Sadie Calvano, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Matt Jones, French Stewart and Kristen Johnston in supporting roles.

<i>The Mark of Cain</i> (1947 film) 1947 British film

The Mark of Cain is a 1947 British drama film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Eric Portman, Sally Gray, Patrick Holt and Dermot Walsh. The film is based on the 1943 novel Airing in a Closed Carriage by Marjorie Bowen, which in turn was based on the true life murder trial of Florence Maybrick. It was made at Denham Studios with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky.

Babe Ruth is a 1991 American drama film directed by Mark Tinker and written by Michael De Guzman. The film stars Stephen Lang, Brian Doyle-Murray, Donald Moffat, Yvonne Suhor, Bruce Weitz and Lisa Zane. The film premiered on NBC on October 6, 1991.

References

  1. Bordwell p.418

Bibliography