Murder Will Out | |
---|---|
Directed by | Clarence Badger [1] |
Written by | J. Grubb Alexander (adaptation & dialogue) |
Based on | "The Purple Hieroglyph" (1920 short story) by Will F. Jenkins (Murray Leinster) [2] |
Starring | Jack Mulhall Lila Lee |
Cinematography | John F. Seitz |
Music by | Alois Reiser |
Production company | |
Distributed by | First National Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 67 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Murder Will Out is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film with songs produced and released by First National Pictures and directed by Clarence G. Badger. The movie stars Jack Mulhall, Lila Lee and features Noah Beery and Malcolm McGregor. The film was based on the short story The Purple Hieroglyph by Murray Leinster writing as Will F. Jenkins, which was published in Snappy Stories on March 1, 1920. [2]
Leonard Staunton, a young wealthy New York club-man is engaged to Jeanne Baldwin, daughter of a U.S. Senator. Mulhall is preparing to spend a weekend at the Senator's estate. He becomes involved in the affairs of a gang of blackmailers through his efforts to help a fellow club member. When Alan Fitzhugh, a fellow club-member, arrives with a note, imprinted with a purple hieroglyph, in which he, Fitzhugh, is threatened with a horrible death. Since Fitzhugh is nervous and terrified, Leonard agrees to stay with him at his apartment that night.
A little after midnight, Fitzhugh finally recovers his nerve and Leonard takes a cab home. The next day a body, terribly mutilated beyond recognition is found. Following the funeral, Dr. Mansfield, accidentally smokes a poisoned cigarette. Leonard, Jeanne, and Lt. Condon, who claims to be in the secret service, take Dr. Mansfield to his home for an antidote. While searching for the antidote, Mansfield's body disappears. While they search for his body, they find footprints that lead to a slipper, inside of which they find another note with a purple hieroglyph.
Numerous other blackmail threats follow, demanding money from Leonard. While at a Chinese garden party, Jeanne is kidnapped and a ransom is demanded from Leonard for her return. While on his way to pay the ransom, Leonard is captured by the blackmailers in a speedboat, but a United States submarine rescues both Leonard and Jeanne. The criminals turn out to be none other than Alan, Dr. Mansfield, and Lt. Condon, who concocted the scheme to get money from Leonard.
The Chinese garden party sequence included a musical sequence featuring a song and exotic dance.
This film is now considered a lost film, with no film elements known to exist.[ citation needed ] The soundtrack, which was recorded on Vitaphone disks, may survive in private hands.
Hell Divers is a 1932 American pre-Code black-and-white film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Wallace Beery and Clark Gable as a pair of competing chief petty officers in early naval aviation. The film, made with the cooperation of the United States Navy, features considerable footage of flight operations aboard the Navy's second aircraft carrier, the USS Saratoga, including dramatic shots of takeoffs and landings filmed from the Curtiss F8C-4 Helldiver dive bombers after which the movie was named.
Private Hell 36 is a 1954 American crime film noir directed by Don Siegel starring Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff, Dean Jagger and Dorothy Malone.
To the Last Man is a 1923 American silent Western film based on the 1921 novel by Zane Grey, produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky from Famous Players–Lasky, distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Victor Fleming, and starring Richard Dix, Lois Wilson, and Noah Beery. The cinematographer was James Wong Howe.
Over-Exposed is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Lewis Seiler and starring Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna and Raymond Greenleaf. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Alias a Gentleman is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Wallace Beery with a supporting cast that includes Dorothy Patrick, Tom Drake, Gladys George and Sheldon Leonard. It was produced by Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Big Jack is a 1949 American Western film starring Wallace Beery, Richard Conte and Marjorie Main. The movie was directed by Richard Thorpe, and the screenplay was written by Gene Fowler and Otto Eis from the novel by Robert Thoeren. The picture is a comedy-drama, set on the American frontier in the early 1800s, about outlaws who befriend a young doctor in legal trouble for acquiring corpses for anatomical research.
Showgirl in Hollywood is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking musical film with Technicolor sequences, produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Alice White, Jack Mulhall and Blanche Sweet. It was adapted from the 1929 novel Hollywood Girl by J.P. McEvoy.
The Girl of the Golden West is a 1938 American musical Western film adapted from the 1905 play of the same name by David Belasco, better known for providing the plot of the opera La fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. A frontier woman falls in love with an outlaw.
Girls in the Night is an American film noir directed by Jack Arnold. Released by Universal Pictures on January 15, 1953, the film stars Harvey Lembeck, Joyce Holden and Glenda Farrell. The film revolves around a family whose efforts to move into a better neighborhood are suddenly hampered when their son is accused of killing a blind man.
Mystery Liner is a 1934 American Pre-Code film directed by William Nigh, starring Noah Beery, Sr., and based on an Edgar Wallace story originally published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1924. The film was entered as a feature attraction at the 1934 International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art in Venice, Italy, the forerunner of the Venice Film Festival.
Hollywood is a 1923 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze, co-written by Frank Condon and Thomas J. Geraghty, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is a lengthier feature follow-up to Paramount's own short film exposé of itself, A Trip to Paramountown from 1922.
Hard Boiled Mahoney is a 1947 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring the comedy team of the Bowery Boys along with Teala Loring and Betty Compson. It is the sixth film in the series produced by Monogram Pictures.
The Heritage of the Desert is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Irvin Willat and based on the novel of the same name by Zane Grey. It stars Bebe Daniels, Ernest Torrence, and Noah Beery. The film was released by Paramount Pictures with sequences filmed in an early Technicolor process.
Big Boy is a 1930 American Pre-Code musical comedy film produced by Warner Bros. The film was directed by Alan Crosland and stars Al Jolson, Claudia Dell, Louise Closser Hale, and Noah Beery. The film is based on the 1925 Broadway hit show of the same name in which Jolson also starred.
Torchy Blane in Chinatown is a 1939 American mystery film directed by William Beaudine and starring Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane. Released on February 4, 1939, it is the seventh film in the Torchy Blane film series by Warner Bros. and is followed by Torchy Runs for Mayor (1939).
Dark Streets is a lost 1929 American pre-Code crime film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Jack Mulhall and Lila Lee. The film was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. Mulhall purportedly plays the first dual role attempted in talking pictures.
Quicksands is a 1923 American silent crime drama film directed by Jack Conway, written by Howard Hawks, and starring Helene Chadwick and Richard Dix. The supporting cast features Alan Hale Sr., Noah Beery Sr. and Jean Hersholt. The film was released on February 28, 1923, by American Releasing Corporation.
Miami Exposé is a 1956 American film noir crime film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Lee J. Cobb, Patricia Medina and Edward Arnold. The film marked the last performance of Arnold, who was fatally stricken during the production. Also in the film is a brief appearance by boxing great Jake "The Raging Bull" LaMotta, playing a thug during the Everglades chase scene.
Calling Homicide is a 1956 American crime drama film directed by Edward Bernds and starring Bill Elliott, Don Haggerty and Kathleen Case. The picture was the third of five films in the Lt. Andy Doyle series, all starring Elliott.
The Purple Cipher is a 1920 American silent mystery film directed by Chester Bennett and starring Earle Williams, Vola Vale and Ernest Shields. Shot by Vitagraph at the company's Brooklyn studios, it was based on the short story The Purple Hieroglyph by Murray Leinster. The story was adapted twice more in the sound era as Murder Will Out (1930) and Torchy Blane in Chinatown (1939).