The Missing Corpse

Body, body, where's the dead body. Seems a non-breathing one gets around better than a breathing one. Then too, the murdered corpse is never where you'd expect it to be. And so, for better or worse, a nomadic corpse just about amounts to the plot. Good thing the narrative's full of colorful characters, and a fast moving director who never lets things drag. I like the way the amusing parts are under-played such that the acting never gets sappy. Cast-wise, It's a paunchy Bromberg, a smirking Jencks, a fluttery Randolph, and a sinister Weldon; together, they lift the skimpy narrative into a pleasantly entertaining programmer. Seems Bromberg's business rival turns up dead and the newsman's got to hide the body before others pin the murder on him. But can he, since new people keep turning up and turning things over in his mountain lodge. And when was the last time a paunchy, middle-aged short guy got the leading part in a flick. It does happen here and no camera tricks try to hide it. I guess my only gripe is the relative absence of shapely girls in that nifty 1940's attire. All in all, the flick's the kind of fun escape meant to ease wartime audiences. And dare I say it, fun too, even for a new millennium.

This is an Alpha Home Entertainment DVD. It looks worse than a VHS copy, if you remember or herd of VHS, with that Blair Witch steady hand. Everything is really scratchy. You will recognize most of the actors such as J. Edward Bromberg from "Charlie Chan on Broadway" (1937). The story at least the presentation had those holes that you can drive a truck through. It gets slapstick at all the weirdest times.

A newspaper owner, Henry Kruger, threatens to dispatch a rival newspaper owner over an article. The one mistake making this threat was right in front of his chauffeur/friend, Andy McDonald, and the other newspaper owner's assistant/patsy 'Slippery Joe' Clary.

And you guessed it a corpse turns up in Henry's car trunk. Then it is not there. Then it is here and there and not here and there. Now each person sees it and is kind enough not to tell everyone. We know he did it, but no one listens to us.

Mack Hogan (Frank Jenks) as the cabin caretaker is the comic relief as if we needed relief.

The story sorts of works around Egbert (Charles Coleman), a snickering butler that seems to know something but never tells.

Anyway, the film is worth a quick look. If you miss this one you will not be missing much.

If you love bodies being moved, then two better movies are: Arsen und Spitzenhäubchen (1944).

And Immer Ärger mit Harry (1955).

For a PRC film with limited production values The Missing Corpse isn't too bad of a film. It also stars the tragic J. Edward Bromberg in one of the films you'll find this character player top billed.

Bromberg and Paul Guilfoyle are rival tabloid publishers and Guilfoyle has printed some nasty stuff about Bromberg's daughter. Reacting like an outraged father, Bromberg promises to do him harm if any more should be printed.

Then Guilfoyle winds up dead and in Bromberg's car trunk. They discover it when Bromberg goes up to his hunting cabin for a short vacation. They being Bromberg and chauffeur Frank Jenks.

Not much suspense here since we know who killed Guilfoyle. Still a few laughs from the cast especially Bromberg and Jenks.

Not bad considering it's a PRC cheapie.

Newspaper publisher J. Edward Bromberg has a running feud with fellow publisher Paul Guilfoyle. Bromberg doesn't like Guilfoyle publishing pictures of his daughter at nightclubs, and threatens the man, whom he calls a blackmailer. The next day he is to go duck hunting, and so spends the evening practicing with a rifle. The following morning, he is packing supplies in the car chauffeur frank Jenks will drive him in, and discovers Guilfoyle's corpse in there.

It's from a story by Harry O. Hoyt (best remembered for directing the silent The Lost World), and it's a pretty amusing comedy as Bromberg tries to ditch the body with Jenks' help, and keeps failing. Bromberg's reactions are funnier for not being particularly jittery in the face of the nitwits he encounters, from wife Lorell Sheldon to cop Archie Twitchell. It's a nicely layered performance by one of the founders of the Group Theater, and director Albert Herman lets him have his head.

I usually don't expect much from PRC movies. What a delightful surprise this was - it was funny, face paced, and entertaining. Also helping was that the print I saw was very good, from Amazon Instant Video. Henry Kruger (Bromberg), an honest and well-to-do newspaper publisher is ignored by his wife, son and daughter. Added to this is his ongoing dispute with a rival publisher who is a crook and a blackmailer. Angry over a photo the rival has published of his daughter, Kruger threatens him. Talking things over with his chauffeur, Mack Hogan (Jenks), Kruger decides to take a vacation and go to his hunting lodge. Unknown to him, the rival publisher is murdered by one of his victims and the murderer puts the body in the truck of his car. After arriving at the lodge, Kruger finds the body (thanks to the antics of a cute dog). There is a nosy highway patrolman hanging around and Kruger and Hogan struggle to keep the cop from finding the body. When the wife, son and daughter show up, the body is moved from room to room. Interestingly, Kruger's family keeps their knowledge about the body from the cop. Given this, the ending was a bit of a twist. I don't recall ever seeing Bromberg in a comedy role. He was excellent in the role as was Frank Jenks as the chauffeur. This movie is a lot of fun.