Adventures of Kitty O'Day

While this is a decidedly minor comedy whodunit, it makes for a mildly diverting entertainment. I found it refreshing to see Jean Parker playing comedy for a change instead of being sweet-Sweet-SWEET in yet another weeper. Peter Cookson, as boyfriend Johnny, seemed to be doing a fair imitation of Cary Grant; I had to look and see where he was from with that curious accent (Oregon) just to be sure that the resemblance wasn't simply a coincidence. Someone, either the director or Cookson himself, clearly had Grant's flair for the screwballs in mind while shooting Johnny. And it's actually quite fun! It's a silly little B-movie, but as long as you don't require your mysteries to make much sense it's perfectly watchable. And if you're a Parker fan her presence makes it quite enjoyable.

I had a lot a fun watching both Kitty ODay films, they didn't take themselves seriously so why should we? The leads had wonderful chemistry which went a long way in enjoying the seemingly endless body count that they both had the bad luck to run into! It was unfortunate that the running length was so short. Had it been a bit longer, it may have helped add some depth to the mystery and some additional characters so there were more suspects to choose from. Kitty Oday walked a fine line on being loud and annoying but her boyfriend Johnny was able to reel her in from time to time. He was a great character, thrown into this strange situation and wanting to get out while Kitty jumps in deeper without learning how to swim first! I had never heard of these films until I saw them on Turner Classic Movies and I wish they would have made more.

Jean Parker and Peter Cookson return for a second and final Kitty O'Day film—and it's basically a ripoff of the first one.

This time around, Kitty has a job as switchboard operator in a large hotel. Snoopy as ever, she listens in on conversations, suspects guests of being criminals—and keeps an eye on boyfriend Johnny Jones, who works across the lobby at the hotel travel bureau.

Parker does her best as the scatterbrained but persistent and occasionally lucky would-be girl detective; Cookson is again the somewhat saner half of the couple who reluctantly joins her investigations. When Kitty reports hearing a gunshot while phone eavesdropping, Johnny urges her to call the police—an idea she quickly nixes. "We'll investigate first," Kitty says, "then call the police."

Tim Ryan is exasperated police detective Clancy, eventually summoned to the hotel only to find (repeatedly) that the supposed corpse has disappeared. Much of the middle section of the picture is devoted to Kitty and Johnny running around after the missing corpse and Inspector Clancy running around after them.

Inspector Clancy is "assisted" by the usual dumb police sergeant, played this time around by Ralph Sanford. (Clancy: "Why is it every time we get here the corpse runs away?" Mac: "Maybe he don't like cops, Chief….")

There are some funny moments and a few good bits of dialog. The cast is certainly pleasant if unexceptional. However, it all seems kind of forced – possibly because the plot is so similar to this film's immediate predecessor, the previous year's Kitty O'Day, Detective.

Overall, it's a harmless enough picture that seems to mean well….but it lacks surprises.

Jean Parker and Peter Cookson return to make another Monogram feature as secretary Kitty O'Day and her boyfriend Johnny an older and sillier edition of Nancy Drew and her boyfriend Ted. But as teens Bonita Granville and Frankie Thomas were a whole lot more entertaining and believable than these two. I'm trying to figure out how Parker ever held down a job as scatterbrained as she is.

She's losing this one because it's her boss who winds up dead. Parker works as a secretary for a hotel owner who gets himself killed. Problem is that every time she and Cookson decide to report the crime, the body disappears. She's driving homicide cop Tim Ryan to total distraction.

Not that Ryan's not busy because a few other murders happen along the way all connected to this one.

Sam Katzman over at Monogram was obviously looking for another movie series like Cisco Kid and the Bowery Boys. But two films and Kitty O'Day went to the dustbin of cinema history.

Dragging along her boyfriend Johnny, hare-brained secretary Kitty O'Day is unstoppable as she tries to determine her boss's murderer.

In her exuberance she and Johnny keep running into more corpses, as well as the unbelievably inept team of Inspector Clancy and his sergeant, Mike.

Their luck seems to run out, though, as they deliver themselves right into the hands of the murderer.

The Adventures of Kitty O' Day is a comedy-mystery with an emphasis on comedy which is quite zany and full of funny wisecracks- as for the mystery, it consists of the amateur sleuths disguising themselves as cleaners, ending up escaping from the police via the window ledge and stumbling on two corpses. It's a fun, zany film with good performances by all, especially Jean Parker.