Home, Sweet Homicide

Very enjoyable, a number of subtle visual jokes (note the turtle that Dean Stockwell has in one scene). Wish it was on videotape.

James Gleason goes on about how he knows how to handle kids because he has six, but it's clear he doesn't, and as a result Lynn Bari's kids solve the mystery where the police can't.

Book also good, even harder to find.

The movie is based on the book of the same name by Craig Rice, who was a popular mystery writer in her time. This movie is a pretty faithful adaption of the book and is somewhat autobiographical. Marian Carstairs (played by the underrated Lynn Bari) is a widow who writes mystery books featuring Detective Bill Smith as the protagonist. Her three children (Dinah, the eldest, April, and Archie, the youngest who is bossed around by his sisters and rightly resents it). Even so, the banter between the youngsters and their obvious fondness for each other and their mother is refreshing. When a murder happens in their neighborhood, the siblings decide they need to solve it and make sure their mother gets the credit for doing so and in that way she will get a lot of publicity for her books. Leading the murder investigation is a detective coincidentally named "Bill Smith," nicely played by Randolph Scott. Smith's partner, Sgt. O'Hare (played by the always excellent James Gleason) is continually frustrated by the youngsters' antics. In their effort to solve the mystery for their mother and to protect the husband of the victim from being accused of the murder, the children come up with the harebrained and potentially dangerous idea of giving the police untrue information. They also come up with the idea that Lt. Smith would be a good beau for their mother. This really isn't much of a mystery as it's easy to figure out who the murderer is but it is a delightful and highly entertaining movie. The siblings, played by Peggy Ann Garner, Connie Marshall, and Dean Stockwell work wonderfully well together and are a highlight of this movie. This movie has one of the best introductory credits I've ever seen. A group is singing a sedate "Home Sweet Home." The rendition is interrupted by screaming and other murderous sounds. It's hilarious. For those interested in Craig Rice, Jeffrey Marks has written an excellent biography of her entitled "Who was that lady? Craig Rice: queen of the screwball comedy."

I'm amazed that I am not alone. Enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Seems like we have similar memories of Million Dollar Movie. I, too, would love to see this "classic" on DVD or videotape. Wonder how that could happen. It would be a real crowd-pleaser. Still waiting to find it out there.

I've seen this film a few times but it's been years and I'd kill to find a copy of it. It's tremendously charming. The kids are terrific -- led by the wonderful Peggy Ann Garner. A really enjoyable 'B' pic that is not available on video. If it turns up at all it's on the Late Late Show. Stay up for this one. You'll be glad you did.

--From upstairs in the big old stucco house they could hear the faint purr of a typewriter, working at top speed. Marian Carstairs, alias Clark Cameron, alias Andrew Thorpe, alias J.J. Lane, was finishing another mystery novel. When it was done, she would take a day off to have her hair shampooed and to buy presents for the young Carstairs. She would take them extravagantly out to dinner and to the best show in town. Then the next morning she would begin writing another mystery novel.

That's from Craig Rice's first-rate mystery novel, Home Sweet Homicide. In the first-rate movie made from the book, the young Carstairs are Dinah, played by 14-year-old Peggy Ann Garner; April, played by 11-year-old Connie Marshall; and Archie, played by 10-year-old Dean Stockwell. The three kids are smart, capable and resourceful. They pretty much run the house while their mother, played by Lynn Bari, cranks out three or four mysteries a year to pay the bills. The kids know how to clean the house, cook a turkey and keep relatively quiet while their mother, a widow, works upstairs. They also know, so they think, all about murders, police work and how to solve a crime. After all, their mother does it all the time. When one afternoon on the way to the malt shop they hear two gunshots and then find out the wife of a neighbor has been killed, they decide to do several things. They're going to protect the murdered woman's husband, the primary suspect, because they think he's innocent. They're going to keep one step ahead of the police so they can solve the crime and get some good publicity for their mother. And after meeting homicide detective Bill Smith, a tall and handsome cop played by Randolph Scott, they decide to become matchmakers for their mom. "You're a nervy bunch of kids," says one suspect, and he's right. Along the way there will be another murder, blackmail, a deadly intruder in the Carstairs' home and a mysterious Manila envelope, which holds secrets and just possibly the solution.

Home Sweet Homicide may not be a major classic, but it certainly is a charming minor classic. By stretching the definition of "noir" just a little, it becomes a satisfying first...a family noir. There may be no hopeless heroes, but there are a lot of dark staircases, shadowy silhouettes of a hand holding a pistol and creepy clubhouses. There's also a large pet turtle, something most conventional noirs don't have.

As attractive as Lynn Bari and Randolph Scott are as the two lead adults, the movie's success rests on other elements. First is the cleverness and charm of Craig Rice's book. It still holds up as a good read. (I know; I still have my copy with yellowing pages.) Rice was hired as the story consultant for the film so that she could keep an eye on the screenplay. It is largely true to the book with one major exception, often crackles with good, fast lines, and the murderer is well disguised. Second are the performances of the three child actors. Garner, Marshall and Stockwell all do fine, natural jobs. Sure, there's some cuteness, but it's character-based and not a product of self-conscious child acting. The kids may be precocious, but it's not irritating. And they know what they're doing when it comes to roasting a turkey.

Peggy Ann Garner gets top billing, followed by Scott and Bari. Although Bari never was able to break out of B movies in starring roles, she makes a great mother here. Bari was a terrific looker, a skilled actress and had one of the sexiest voices in Hollywood. As odd as it might seem, the author Craig Rice, who was a major mystery writer, put a lot of her own life into the story. There's a glamour shot of Rice you can find on the net; she looks a little like Bari.