Murder on the Campus

A student is killed at the top of a tower on a college campus. No one saw anyone come down from the tower and there was no place for the killer to hide. Charles Starrett plays Bill Bartlett a reporter who just happened to be on the scene of the crime. He's interested in a girl who becomes one of the suspects in the murder.She is working her way through college as a singer in a night club run by a gambler known as Blackie. As more deaths occur the reasons for the murder become less clear, especially as we learn about some of the suspects.

This is one of those movies thats just okay and under normal circumstances you'd turn off the TV and go to bed but because things manage to be just interesting enough you find you're staying up well past your bed time. Don't get me wrong its a good movie, but its nothing special, but once the first body is found and you realize short of flying no one could have killed him you end up pretty much hooked. I sat there trying to go to bed, yawning, and unwilling to turn off the DVD because I had to see how it was done and why (I knew who the killer was the instant the actor/actress appeared on screen). Don't watch this too late or you'll end up up 70 minutes past your bedtime.

Worth a rental, an hour of your time and a bag of popcorn. You won't remember it but you will enjoy it.

This film essentially begins with a gunshot being heard by a number of people that appears to be coming from the top of the local college bell tower. Sure enough, when the police get there, they find the body of a college student who died from a bullet wound to the head. Interestingly enough, they not only fail to find a gun, but they also soon discover that nobody was seen leaving the tower after the gunshot was heard. So, with very little else to go on, the police then begin to question everyone who either knew the college student or had any relationship with him. And it's during this time that they find what appears to be the murder weapon in the bedroom of a young college student named "Lillian Voyne" (Shirley Grey) who has no solid alibi on where she was when the murder occurred. What she does have, fortunately, is a boyfriend by the name of "Bill Bartlett" (Charles Starrett) who just happens to be an investigative reporter for the local newspaper and is very skilled in his job. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I honestly wasn't expecting too much from this film due in large part to the time period in which it was made and the rather mediocre rating on IMDb. That being said, while I will admit that this movie is rather dated and it suffers in that regard, I still found it to be rather entertaining--with the numerous twists and turns along with the dogged persistence of Bill Bartlett being particularly enjoyable. On the other hand, considering the date this film was produced, there are a couple of inherent flaws here and there with the rather abrupt ending being particularly noticeable. But even so, all things being considered, I enjoyed this film, for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Poor casting sinks this vintage murder mystery that generates a modicum of suspense but generally lacks anything worth one's attention.

Charles Starrett makes for a bland leading man, playing a reporter who just happens to be located at the right place to nearly witness a murder of a student up atop a bell tower. He and the cops find the corpse but can't figure out how the unknown killer escaped with no one seeing him. Starrett is so bland I figured he must be the killer himself, but that was wishful thinking on my part.

Talky and dull, the whodunit plods along with wooden performances by the no-name cast. As a coed who moonlights at night singing in a nightclub, Shirley Grey is too old for the role and makes zero impression. Dialogue patter between Starrett and the dogged cop on the case (J. Farrell MacDonald) is uncreative on the order of saying things like "Go jump in the lake".

Movie doesn't pick up steam until the finale, when the murderer explains exactly how and why he did it and there's a bit of excitement, way too late to make up for the sleep-inducing earlier footage.

Charles Starrett is a reporter trying to figure out how a guy could be shot in a bell tower while no one is around. He ends up investigating another murder and an apparent suicide. Shirley Grey plays his romantic interest. Edward Van Sloan plays a criminologist; after all, he has plenty of experience killing vampires. As usual, the cops, led by J. Farrell MacDonald, are imbeciles, and Starrett has to solve the mystery for them. The ending is somewhat clever, although by then, I had figured out who the killer was - but not the method. As a bit of trivia, I had never seen Grey before, only to discover she was born not too far from where I live. MacDonald looks and sounds like William Frawley.

Veteran police captain J. Farrell MacDonald and young newspaper reporter Charles Starrett: Why are they such good friends? MacDonald is, as usual, the crusty police captain who suspects everyone and trusts no one...except, apparently, this cub reporter who follows him around on this case and is readily admitted to all interviews and interrogations, even though Starrett's character is quite frankly in love with the main suspect MacDonald is after. In any case, the two actors play well off of each other, and together they keep the story moving fast.

There's been a murder up in the campus bell tower; the murdered character was apparently something of an uncultured impostor who was only in the school because of his athletic prowess. (Little else is known about him except that he had been brought out to the college from some godforsaken outpost called Minnesota.) Chemistry student Lillian Voyne (Shirley Grey) had had an appointment to meet the victim right at the time of the murder. Did she do it? How could she have—the body was locked alone at the top of the tower! What about her friend, the suspiciously behaving Ann (played by Ruth Hall in a too small part)? And what is the part in all of this of the mysterious gambler Blackie Atwater? Can noted criminologist Prof. Hawley (Edward Van Sloan, looking very at home in the role) assist in solving the crime?

It's a pretty slick 70 minutes that doesn't hold a lot of surprises but does pack in some suspense. Well worthwhile for us fans of these B mysteries.

N.B. Those looking for a realistic depiction of college life in the 1930s are advised to stick with the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers.