Murder, He Says

source: Murder, He Says

Guess I won't be making a trip to the backwoods anytime soon after seeing this advertisement for staying home. Just look at what happened to poor Pete Marshall (MacMurray). Here he is, some nicely dressed bureaucrat trying to do what his job tells him. So out he goes to the sticks to count noses and (shudder! shudder!) meets up with what can only be called The Hillbillies from Heck, otherwise known as the family Fleagle. First, there's Ma Fleagle (Main) who's just gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson and is now looking for new victims, with a voice about as gentle as an air raid siren. Then there's the brothers Fleagle, Mert and Bert (Whitney), whose combined IQ is about 25, which is just about how many tons their hulking frames can lift. And don't forget dear Granny (Paige) who's just resting up between pot shots at any stranger who mistakes her for their own grandmother. Put them together, courtesy ace director Marshall, and they redefine the whole idea of family values, plus, of course, the whole concept of evolution. And, oh yes, mustn't forget sweet, pretty Elany (Heather)—now, if she could just think as well as she looks or find a new tune with real words, well, who knows. And get a load of their Addams Family mansion, all secret passages and about as comfortable as a weekend at Alcatraz. Worse, drink the water and you light up like Broadway at midnight—just check out that that roulette wheel dinner. So, pity poor Pete once he crosses the threshold, it's just one hilarious mishap after another. Mix in 30-grand in missing loot somewhere on the premises, a fetching helper for Pete (Walker), plus a hay- bailer from heck, and you've got one of the funniest, most delightful madcaps of the 1940's. A real group triumph. So don't miss it.

Back in the early eighties, I got my first vehicle with an FM radio. It allowed me to 'discover' All Things Considered on NPR. One of the things that I noticed right away, the ATC theme was from the film Murder, He Says. I've never bothered to write them about it. I'll now assume that others have. Sometime in the late eighties or early nineties, they broadcast a report purporting to search for the roots of the theme. A LOT of pieces of obscure classical and pop tunes were played, along with their references, but, not one mention was made of Horses Flies is, In Comb Bees is. Maybe I'll get the ambition to write them. Meanwhile, as Fred says in the film,'In Town, Police is'.

This is awfully goofy, but it does have some very good moments along the way. Fred MacMurray's likability helps a lot in keeping it from getting too silly to watch. The story is funny at times, but it relies too much on some far-fetched developments to avoid noticing it. Nonetheless, "Murder, He Says" works rather better than do the majority of movies that try this kind of approach. The story set-up has potential, with MacMurray as a survey-taker who finds himself in an unwelcoming place, where he winds up in the middle of a complicated and hazardous situation. There are several directions that the story could have taken from there. The choice actually made was to exaggerate everything for comic effect, and to play it mostly as low comedy. Most of the cast members get into the spirit of things, and they give their performances a lot of energy. There are some funny sequences that work well, though there are others that are a little too ridiculous. This is the kind of movie that works best when you want a few easy laughs without having to concentrate on anything, and when your frame of mind is such that the wackier a movie is, the better. In that case, the story and characters are amusing enough to make it worth seeing.

Fred MacMurray (Pete) arrives at a backwater town to carry out some market research and find out what happened to his predecessor. He is pointed in the direction of the Fleagle family and he basically never leaves their premises. The Fleagles are a murderous bunch who are after some hidden money. The film is a comedy with plenty of slapstick. It's OK as entertainment but that's all, I'm afraid. There are some genuinely funny laugh-out-loud scenes. Two to watch out for are the Lazy-Susan episode where 7 people sit down to dinner and keep spinning the table around to avoid the plate of poison food. It's funny throughout and ends with a surprise. The second stand-out scene occurs when escaped convict Barbara Pepper (Bonnie) confronts MacMurray and mistakes him for one of her thick cousins. She quizzes him as to where the money is hidden whilst MacMurray is sitting on the real cousin who is inside the chest but whose legs are dangling over the edge making it look like they belong to MacMurray. This scene is hilarious as MacMurray tries to control the legs and throws in a bit of improvisation. I love how MacMurray keeps turning to bash the cousin on the head inside the trunk. MacMurray is good as always taking everything in his stride. Unfortunately, outside of these scenes, the film drags and certain episodes just aren't funny. You end up willing the film to finish and the final chase just drags on.

I had always wanted to check out this black comedy – a rare thing for Hollywood during this era (off-hand, the only other one I can recall is ARSENIC AND OLD LACE [1944]). However, it's never been available to me until now…so that, in compiling a list of lightweight titles I most wanted to watch throughout the Christmas season, it's no surprise the film ended up at the top of the list. Even so, this has more of a cult than classic reputation – but it was certainly a delight: incidentally, while I'm usually somewhat queasy watching movies centering around hillbillies, their inherent eccentric nature works perfectly within the context of MURDER, HE SAYS' bizarre plot. By the way, the greedy/homicidal-family-after-a-sum-of-money involved harks back to the popular 'old dark house'-type comedy-thrillers – which undoubtedly gives the whole added appeal. With this in mind, the location of the loot being hidden within the nonsensical verses of an old ditty is a much-used device in this kind of picture – as is the presence in the house of both a secret passageway and a mysterious assailant (whose identity actually isn't hard to guess). Similarly, the fact that the moribund crone (justifiably) suspects her relatives' motives and opts to confide in a stranger is particularly reminiscent of the wonderful Sir Roderick Femm scene in my favorite subgenre entry – the appropriately-titled THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932). That said, the original elements here are no less engaging – with the unlikely albeit effectively-handled 'glowing poison' expedient a recurring motif (which reaches its zenith in the hilarious dinner sequence around an inconveniently revolving table). The most side-splitting visual gags, then, both feature bodily contortions: the hero being tied up in a most awkward position to be grilled by the Fleagles and his own later pretense as a midget in order to conceal one of their two identical sons lying unconscious at his real feet! For the record, there's even an amusing in-joke in the film's reference to THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940) – the marvelous Bob Hope comedy-horror vehicle, also made by director Marshall at Paramount! Fred MacMurray makes for an ideal lead – suitably bewildered and out-of-his-depth at first, but who eventually contrives to outwit the crazy clan by employing his 'superior' city-slicker ways. Apart from a whip-cracking Marjorie Main (perhaps the quintessential female hick) and mad scientist(!) Porter Hall as the respective heads of the backwoods brood, the remaining cast members were unknown to me – though all enter gleefully into the offbeat spirit of the thing. The twins were obviously played by the same actor and, unsurprisingly, leading lady Helen Walker turns out not to be vicious/demented after all (since she's only impersonating a convicted member of the dysfunctional family, with the real character herself surfacing towards the end). Maintaining a frenzied pitch virtually for the entire duration (leading to an extended chase finale that's capped by an inventive come-uppance for practically the entire main cast) makes the film seem longer than its 94 minutes – but it's an inspired ride all the way, and great fun to boot. The quality of the copy I acquired (derived from VHS) isn't optimal if still quite passable under the circumstances…at least until Universal (who now owns the film) sees fit to give it a decent – and much-deserved – release on DVD. I guess HD-DVD is out-of-the-question for such an obscure little item and, in any case, I'm not yet willing to give in to the format just yet owing to the undue hassle and expense this would clearly entail!

Don't let My 3 Sons (the tv sitcom) fool you, Fred McMurray was a master of comedic roles and physical comedy. A befuddled McMurray plays off back-woods characters, that make Larry and his brothers Daryl and Daryl (from Newhart) look like society patrons. He made me understand the phrase "running around like a chicken with your head cut off", as he stays one step ahead of his greedy, murderous adversaries.... I first saw this film, in re-runs, when very young, but i still get a laugh out of it... and Fred McMurray shines......

So silly that's it's actually hilarious. Holds it's own thru the years. Fred McMurray is totally incredulous thru it all and Helen Walker is his beautiful counterpart. The mystery is good. And of course the topping on the cake is Marjorie Main with that whip! BTW Let's not forget Peter Whitney playing both twins. Super job. The whole cast deserves a good round of applause.

Custom made for Fifties TV. Ma Kettle with a shotgun, but the gun doesn't make her any funnier--was she ever?--even for late 40's audiences, perhaps still around in Rick Perry territory, it dies on the vine. Predictable, silly, not really a lot of fun even as an historical piece. Most interesting thing was the clever filming of the same-actor twins. But really, a 1/2 hr episode of any "Lucy" show, built along the same nonsense, is funnier. Aside from "history" a waste of time. The hay bales wrapped around people at the end...all of them looked zonked. Was it really hay???! Ho ho Hah hah The ho's and ha's is about at the level of this

I just saw this movie at the LaSalle Bank Cinema, a theater in Chicago where, each Saturday, a film noir movie is shown. This week's movie was Murder, He Said starring Fred Mac Murray. The audience (over 300 people) laughed out loud and were accompanied by a lady (near the front of the theater) who would react with a scream or a warning to Mac Murray whenever trouble would arrive. To say that a film over 60 years old would receive such reactions from a contemporary crowd would testify to the holding power and entertaining qualities of these old films. Mac Murray's comedic timing for the pratfall, wise crack and sarcasm was impeccable. I understand that this movie may have been intended as a vehicle for Bob Hope but Mac Murray did well. Marjorie Main with her whip, Peter Whitney as "the twins", and the beautiful Helen Walker as the heroine/love interest, were superb. Yes, I would recommend seeing this film but, as with many films, its best seen with a crowd with whom you can share in their reactions.