Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?

I saw this movie long ago. It was on a VHS tape with a somewhat worn cover. I thought "Red Buttons - I've watched him all my life, and he's a good comedian. But a detective? Well, OK, but I'm not going to get my hopes up." Well, I'll be darned if it wasn't one of the best movies I've seen! The cast is wonderful. It consisted of actors who were already big stars and actors that would become big stars. This movie was well made and under-publicized. I had never heard of it before I saw it in a video rental store. My advice would be to get out the popcorn, and prepare to be impressed. I don't know if it is on DVD yet, but it certainly should be!

"Who Killed Mary Whats'ername?" is a movie starring Red Buttons as well as an unusual ensemble cast, including Sam Waterston, Conrad Bain, Sylvia Miles, David Doyle and Ron Carey.

When the story begins, an aging ex-boxer, Mickey (Buttons) moves in to a crummy skidrow apartment. He's learned that the woman who lived there before him was a prostitute who was murdered...and no one seems to have really cared...including the police. So, he decides to do some digging to see if he can figure out her sad fate. And, along the way, he finds a few folks who decide to help him in his quest.

This film looks as if it was filmed with a very limited budget. This is not a complaint and it worked pretty well considering the setting. As far as the story goes, it's so unusual that I'm giving it a 7. It is far from great but I appreciate the film taking some chances. Plus, I have to respect a few of these actors playing very icky characters!

I watched this on YouTube because I expected it to be tawdry fun or a good whodunit. It is neither. The script is void of suspense or wit.

Red Buttons was a beloved second banana, but didn't have the charisma or presence to be a leading man. Sylvia Miles looks like a truck driver dressed up as Doly Parton. You know what? That is why we loved her.

A very small film which was born into instant obscurity, WHO KILLED MARY WHAT'S'ERNAME deserves to be exhumed from the graveyard of forgotten movies and given a second look. Red Buttons is surprisingly good in his out-of-character role as a decent Joe Anyman who's trying to unravel the mystery of a hooker recently murdered in a rundown part of the city...a case to which the authorities have been entirely unresponsive.

He comes to find that she was known to the many creatures of the street, but as little more than a nameless, faceless blur in the periphery of a sideways glance.

An unfortunate truth is brought to the fore, that a sizable swath of the population simply doesn't matter...not to each other, maybe not even to themselves. WHO KILLED MARY WHAT'S'ERNAME dares us to look at those we've tuned our backs on in a tactful, but honest portraiture of someone else's America.

5.5/10.

The copy of this film that I own has terrible sound quality. I had to turn the volume up all the way and the fuzzy noise was still louder than the dialogue. Despite that, I braved this film from beginning to about three quarters of the way through when I simply couldn't stand the pain anymore. The opening scene of a struggle between a man and a woman (presumably. Most of it is a blur, like when your dad tries to figure out how to work the camcorder) flashes between the "struggle" and still shots of ceramic figurines. This is the director's attempt at using juxtaposition of opposites to induce a feeling of irony in the audience. It fails miserably and is laughable at best. The rest of the movie develops along a muddled plot line of cliche dialogue, ed wood-quality actors, and a delicious flavor of blaxploitation. It is a truly terrible film that is perfect for your next bad movie film festival. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and it is certainly much better than Cats. I urge everyone who likes bad movies to give this one a shot!