The King Murder

"The King Murder" is available on DVD from Alpha Video. Like most of Alpha's films, this one has a rather rough print--a bit blurry (looking as if copied from a videotape or just a very used print) and with poor sound (there's too much background hiss). Unfortunately, this is likely the only way you'll find the film so you'll need to accept it, warts and all. Fortunately, as the film progresses, the sound quality at least improves though at the end it suddenly became worse.

This story was apparently based on a famous murder case of the era involving a blackmailer named Dot King. Interestingly, the studio (Universal) didn't disguise this very well, naming the character Miriam King.

Miriam has made a career out of seducing rich married men. Then, once she has incriminating information, she blackmails them into paying her not to produce this information to their wives. After her latest shakedown, Miriam ends up dead and the police are trying to figure out what happened. It isn't easy, as she's gathered a lot of enemies over the years.

Conway Tearle plays Detective Barton--the man assigned to work on this murder case. Interestingly, despite the subject matter being rather salacious and the recentness of the actual murder, the film did NOT seem exploitational in the least. Likewise, it was handled in a quiet, cerebral fashion and the overall film was far better than I'd expected--especially since it was from tiny-budget Chesterfield Productions. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the pawn broker seemed incredibly broadly portrayed---extremely Jewish--most likely in keeping with stereotypes of the day. Worth seeing even with the lousy print.

Evidently, this movie was based on the unsolved 1923 murder of showgirls Dorothy King. King needs $5,000 to pay off her ex- boyfriend and tries to blackmail one of her current wealthy customers into giving her the money. Conway Tearle plays the detective in charge of the investigation who just happens to be in love with the wife of one of his friends; a friend who later becomes a suspect. Tearle is unbelievably wooden in his performance as is Natalie Moorehead in her role of the wife. The best part of the movie is the interesting way a young couple establishes an alibi for the time of the murder - that was clever. And the murder method was kind of interesting. But other than that it's a bit of a slog to watch all the way through. A mildly interesting period mystery but not memorable.

It's a remarkable fact that some of the "B" directors like Richard Thorpe adapted to sound much faster than acclaimed "A" leaders like John Ford and Howard Hawks. Thorpe's Border Romance (1929) is very competently made indeed, and in this 1932 production he could still give some of the masters a keen lesson in pacing. Indeed, the first two reels move with such celerity that the average viewer needs to be really on his toes to keep up with the plot. And at this stage it's worth paying attention, because the sultry Dorothy Revier is right up there on the screen. When she is killed, the pace slows somewhat when the focus shifts to Marceline Day (who is too rake-thin for my taste) and plodding-as-she-goes hero, Conway Tearle. Nonetheless, the mystery is still intriguing enough, and Thorpe makes good use of Universal's standing sets to give the movie a bit of class. Natalie Moorhead is exotic enough to command a bit of interest, and an outstanding cameo by Rose Dione also helps. Alas, as usual in many of these Poverty Row thrillers, the solution to the mystery is somewhat contrived. Also disappointing is the revelation of the actual killer. In fact the whole climax is a letdown. One gets the impression that the producer ran out of money at this stage and simply wound the film down. Curtain!

Dorothy Revier is a kept woman with a man or two on the side, as well as a sideline in blackmail. When Don Alvarado and Marceline Day break into her apartment to recover some letters, they discover her dead. They leave, but soon Detective Chief Conway Tearle is on the case, with a large number of suspects.

THis straightforwardly plotted mystery seems to have been based on the murder of showgirl Dorothy King in 1923; it was also the inspiration for S. S. Van Dyne's THE CANARY MURDER CASE and the movie THE NAKED CITY. The handling of this Poverty Row movie is fast and seems to be rather random under the dirction of Richard Thorpe.

Tearle is clipped in his line readings. He had spent most of the 1920s as leading man to lady stars who wanted someone who didn't want the audience being distracted. By the 1930s he was reduced to leads in cheap B movies like this, and good supporting roles in major studios' A movies. He died in 1938 at the age of 60.

"The King Murder" like "The Canary Murder Case" (1929) and "Discarded Lovers" (1932) featured a female victim with multiple paramours. Any one of them could be guilty.

The victim was Miriam King (Dorothy Revier). She was shaking down a few men who'd been dumb enough to cheat on their wives with her. She was found dead one night by a man named Jose Moreno (Don Alvarado) who'd broken into her apartment to steal some letters that compromised him. He as well as a host of other men were suspects. Even two women were suspects: Elizabeth Hawthorn (Natalie Moorhead), the wife of one of Miriam's marks, and Pearl Hope (Marceline Day), the friend (or more) of Jose Moreno.

I must say that this murder mystery did have me guessing. At one point I was convinced of who the murderer was (I always lock on to the one with the least supposed motive and opportunity), just to be wrong. So for that, I give this movie a 7/10.

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