MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL

William Marshall and Vera (Hruba) Ralston

MURDER IN THE MUSIC HALL (1946). Director: John English.

Lila Leighton (Vera Ralston) is a figure skater who appears in an ice show on the stage of a music hall. She is contacted by Carl Lang (Edward Norris), who spent five years in the penitentiary for killing a man named Douglas. Now Carl tells Lila that he was only covering for her, that he knows she killed Douglas out of jealousy. Lila is still digesting this absurd accusation when Carl himself is murdered, literally stabbed in the back in his penthouse. With the aid of her boyfriend, handsome conductor Don Jordan (William Marshall), Lila tries to ferret out who killed Carl before she herself is accused of the crime by Inspector Wilson (William Gargan). The suspects include Lila's fellow performers -- Millicent (Helen Walker of Nightmare Alley), Diane (Julie Bishop of Why Men Leave Home), and Gracie (Ann Rutherford) -- as well as Rita Morgan (Nancy Kelley of The Bad Seed), the wife of gossip columnist George Morgan (Jerome Cowan). 

Suspects: Helen Walker, Ann Rutherford, Julie Bishop

Murder in the Music Hall is a well-turned-out mystery from Republic studios starring the wife, Ralston, of the studio head. The plot has interesting aspects, especially concerning a certain blind stranger, although the true identity of this person is obvious from the first. The identity of the murderer, however, is by no means certain but won't come as that much of a surprise, either. Never a particularly great actress, Ralston generally manages to be appealing, as she is in this. Marshall, Norris, Gargan and the ladies are all adept. There are some skillful real-life figure skaters who put on brief acts as well. James Craven, Jack La Rue and Anne Nagle are also in the cast in small roles. Director John English also helmed a number of serials.

Verdict: Acceptable Republic murder mystery with an interesting cast. **1/2. 

WHY MEN LEAVE HOME

Gross: The Fat Twins --  Zoe and Chloe Borden

WHY MEN LEAVE HOME (aka Secrets of Beauty/1951). Director: Erle C. Kenton.

In this oddball theatrical film from Hallmark, Dr. John Waldron (Richard Denning) is put out because his wife, Ruth (Julie Bishop of Lady Gangster) won't, well, put out. He thinks she puts too much effort into her housekeeping and not enough into keeping herself lovely and satisfying his needs. [In one scene it is very obvious that John is hoping for and expecting some bedroom action until Ruth puts curlers in her hair and smears cold cream on her face.] The couple have a little daughter, Ginger (Ginger Prince), who is sent out to Hollywood for a screen test along with other youngsters, such as the Fat Twins. [Not only are these gals corpulent and plain, they have absolutely no talent and should not be seen on an empty stomach -- or a full one! Four years later, blond but still disgusting, they appeared on one of the least memorable I Love Lucy episodes with Tennessee Ernie Ford]. Then the movie turns into an ad for Ern Westmore of the famous make-up family, who demonstrates beauty tricks on different ladies as his wife, Betty (actually actress Virginia Merrick) stands by and urges him to lose weight. [Betty Westmore was a sometime actress herself, but for some reason doesn't play herself in this movie.] Meanwhile Ruth mistakenly believes that John is carrying on with his sexy nurse, Kay (Myrna Dell), who is in love with him, while she's in Hollywood with Ginger and the Westmores. (At one point John actually spies on Kay as she's changing her clothing  -- talk about unprofessional, even sleazy, behavior!) Should this couple divorce, or will tubby Ern Westmore pull some tricks out of his hat and turn Ruth once again into a ravishing beauty? The movie stops dead now and then while Ern and other "experts" deliver lectures. Poor Albert Glasser [Monster from Green Hell] wrote the score for this. Erle C. Kenton also directed many Universal horror flicks, a few Abbott and Costello comedies, and Search for Beauty in 1934. It's unlikely he ever made a worse movie than this, however.

Verdict: Why people leave the theater. Atrocious! *.

I WAS FRAMED

I WAS FRAMED (1942). Director: D. Ross Lederman.

Ken Marshall (Tod Andrews) is a newspaper reporter out to get the goods on a corrupt politician when the object of his scrutiny neatly frames him for a murder. Marshall is sent up the river, but manages to escape by using an idea formulated by his cellmate (John Harmon). Circumstances dictate that the cellmate has to be left behind, but later when Marshall and his wife (Julie Bishop) and baby are established in a small town under assumed names, the cellmate shows up with blackmail in mind. There's a small town doctor (Aldrich Bowker) who's so kind and wise and warm that you figure he must have ulterior motives, but in this kind of simplistic movie he doesn't. The little Marshall girl, Penny, is played by the precocious Patty Hale, an undeniably talented child actress who nevertheless borders on the cloying. Pleasant, simple-minded pap with a pleasant, competent cast. Holds the attention if you're in a charitable frame of mind. Andrews also appeared in Outrage and From Hell It Came. Sam McDaniel scores as Uncle Kit, who does a number with Patty. It's all wrapped up very neatly -- too neatly.

Verdict: Eminently forgettable. **.