Accused of Murder

Vera Hruba Ralston is a nightclub singer who has just had her opening night. Sidney Blackmer, a lawyer who's been stealing from the mob, asks her to marry him, but she doesn't love him. Mob boss Richard Karlan tells Warren Stevens to kill him, and he does so... with dance hall hostess Virginia Grey spotting him on the street just after the shot is fired. When homicide detectives David Brian and Lee van Cleef start investigating, the trail leads them immediately to Miss Ralston. Their problem is that the story she tells is not the story shown on the screen, nor does it match up their background checks.... and Miss Grey's attempts to blackmail a killer are not as smart as she would imagine....

It's wide screen and color and from a story by W.R. Burnett and shows promise, but director Joseph Kane doesn't know how to direct the scenes for the sexual heat that Burnett's story demands, so the abrupt changes are a bit cringeworthy. Still, there's a good scene with Elisha Cook Jr. as a sweaty alky and Frank Puglia is rather sweet as a sympathetic night club owner. There's not a spot of chemistry between the leads, however, and the result is a sub-par time waster.

This is much better than I had any reason to believe it might be.

It is almost a noir, but, aside from Virginia Grey, must of the cast don't really register very well.

A supporting turn by Lee Van Cleve, among others (David Brian, Sidney Blackmer, etc.) keep the movie moving along.

And there is Vera Ralston, singing ersatz cafe songs, and the glory of TruColor.

Still, why Eddie Muller hasn't championed the movie is beyond me, as he has justified far worse.

For some reason, I stumbled across the movie on The Criterion Channel, which keeps surprising me, as one of the best movie streaming services available.

A big time lawyer is shot on a street. The cops investigate, finding a tangled web of suspects, while the head cop gets involved with one of the suspects.

Thoroughly forgettable crime drama (not noir). Two reasons for watching might be to catch evil-eye Lee Van Cleef as a cop, of all things, and still early in his unusual career. Then there's Vera Hruba Ralston often mocked as Hollywood's worst actress. She's not too bad here as a lounge singer. Can't help but sympathize with her fruitless effort to become the Hollywood queen Republic's head honcho Herbert Yates insisted upon. And that's despite her not speaking English and having little talent. She does show some accomplishment here, however. Note, in passing, the spiffy suits the men wear, even the cops. Like maybe, they just came off the studio rack, which I expect they did. Too bad pedestrian Joe Kane directs without a single imaginative touch, while actor Brian literally walks through his cop part. Anyway, the cars are clean and shiny, the candy-box colors near perfect, and the run- time fairly brief. So it all swallows down easily if unmemorably.

Joseph Kane was a definite western specialist for Republic Pictures he made dozens if not hundreds of them but he nevertheless gave us some noirs such as this one, ACCUSED OF MURDER, HOODLUM EMPIRE, THE NOTORIOUS MR MONKS and THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE. Here, no surprise to see Vera Ralston, the Republic Pictures queen - because married to the studio boss Herbert J Yates - but to see David Brian in a positive lead caracter, and not the usual the hero's sidekick or rival, that's a surprise. That's a pretty cool crime noir, good atmosphere, not that foreseeable from a western specialist. Look for it.

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.