Murder in a Small Town

Nothing too heavy, but a wonderful romp into the late 1930's. An A&E murder mystery true to all the marvelous classic conventions with fine performances by all. Plenty of humor, good feeling, and eccentric characterizations more than make up for a rather spartan plot. Just relax and enjoy.

Gene Wilder is terrific in his over-the-top comedic triumphs ("The Producers", "Young Frankenstein", "Blazing Saddles", and more), but hasn't always been wisely used in more moderate roles. "Haunted Honeymoon" comes to mind!

This one, though, is extremely enjoyable, and I hope it's the beginning of a series. His performance is smart, restrained, believable, professional, and witty. The movie, a lovely period piece murder mystery, is a surprisingly effective vehicle for him. It has everything for a satisfying couple of hours on the sofa: 1930s costumes and cars, detective work, romance, and light comedy.

Let's have more of Wilder in this kind of role.

Not being a Gene Wilder fan, the memory of Haunted Honeymoon being too fresh, I almost didn't watch this one. Glad, glad, double glad I did. The whole thing smacked of the 30's with all the hairstyles, props and settings, and all the well preserved cars. An excellent whodunnit that had me guessing all the way. The killer was suspicious, but I never....

In a mostly straight role, with only occasional moments of humor, Gene Wilder is surprisingly good; his warm and insightful theatrical director/amateur sleuth is like a more humane Hercules Poirot. The film is well-cast right down the line and has a reasonably intricate plot, but it suffers from the usual limitations of most TV productions, including bland cinematography and slow pacing. Enjoyable overall, but mediocre. (**1/2)

I love this movie.The time period sets & characters were very engrossing.I was truly surprised as to the outcome of this movie.I thought I had it all figured out.This film reminds me of the board game "Clue".I will probably purchase this movie.There is a little bit of "CHINATOWN" in the movie's plot.Terrific acting & use of guile to fool the viewing audience.Very entertaining.I hope WILDER reprises his role.