Schach dem Mörder

A nightclub singer , Ilona Vance (Vera Hruba Ralston) is "Accused of Murder" in this 1956 Republic movie filmed in "Naturama." A shadt lawyer (Sidney Blackmer) is in love with Ilona. After she rejects him, he winds up murdered in his car.

Police Lt. Hargis (David Brian) doubts that Ilona is the killer - he's a little smitten with her. A hostess at the club (Virginia Grey) sees a man near the murder scene and tries to blackmail him (Warren Stevens). He gives her a good punch in the face and warns her not to tell anyone.

Though Ilona says she does not recognize the murder gun, a man sees the gun in the paper and identifies it as a gun an associate of his gave to Ilona. She insists that she is being framed.

This is a short film (76 minutes) and it goes nowhere. With the exception of Elisha Cook Jr., Virginia Grey, and Lee Van Cleef in supporting roles, the acting is flat.

Ralston's singing is dubbed, and the singer does not have a Czech accent.

Naturama was a wide-screen technique used by Republic Pictures. It evidently didn't catch on.

Pretty mediocre murder mystery with Vera Ralston totally unappealing as nightclub singer. Her hand motions during her opening number are hilarious. David Brian makes a convincing cop if not a convincing lover. Sidney Blackmer's reactions to Ralston's singing are pretty funny too. Filmed in Naturama, whatever that is

...for sure, but forgettable. Pretty good who done it yarn, though Vera Ralston is pretty bad. Enjoy seeing several actors you've seen before but may not remember their names.

A lovely immigrant night club singer gets involved in a murder case, and the man murdered had just proposed to her and been rejected, and he was deeply involved in fishy business and desperately in debt. A hoodlum was paid for having killed him, but he didn't do it. The lieutenant in charge of the case gets involved with the lovely singer and thus makes the mess worse. Another lovely lady from a dancing school happens to look out the window after the murder and recognizes the paid assassin, but instead of immediately reporting him to the police, she tries to blackmail him, whereupon he almost slugs her to death, but she survives just enough to be able to identify him when they try to put her together again at the hospital. The lovely immigrant (Vera Ralston) is still being held a suspect of murder, and the case is far from clear. Eventually she returns to go on singing at the night club. It is not a very convincing noir, but it is worth watching for the lovely colours, which are very unusual for a noir.

If for no other reason, I have three (3) absolutely insane reasons to enjoy watching this movie.

1-baby blue Continental automobile was a separate "make" from the Ford Motor Company for just the 1956 and 1957 model years.

2-Virginia Gray sweating profusely, and her bright blue eyes.

3-the almost matching (different color jackets) blackamoor lamps at the ends of the bar in the nightclub.

And a color picture from Republic in 1956 because the studio boss' wife was the singer.