The King Murder

I watched this movie as an entry on one of those "50 Movies" DVD sets (Crime Classics), so maybe I didn't get the highest quality video around. Nevertheless, I found this movie to be stultifyingly bad. The script is muddled and confusing. Characters come and go and the time line is jarring and confusing. The acting generally sub-par, with the best performance being turned in by Maurice Black, probably best known for his role as "Little Arnie" Lorch in "Little Caesar". The audio is terrible and at time unintelligible. The cinematography is primitive and looks many times as if filmed in a closet. Don't get me wrong, I like "bad" movies but more in the vein of Ed Wood bad. This film has nothing to offer the viewer on any level.

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.

"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.

I will transport myself to 1932, and then if I look at, it isn't that bad as some of use have said here. It definitely has more merit than the 5.4 score that is given now. The mystery is built up quite well, of who-dunnit and being precode, the story could openly say about the pre as well as post marital relation - the fact of life which naturally the codes won't let be brough out. And in those circumstances, the high society blackmailer (Miriam King) is killed - and probable murderer could be any of the three current (should have been more) males she had been sponging on, her own black mailer, or even any of the current girlfriends/ wives of her victims who knew of her existence with their lovers/ husbands. The method of the murder was very ingenuous and probably unless the murderer hasn't committed virtual suicide, to save some one dear, the case would have remain unsolved. It is a neat mystery, fast paced, and not too much to find-fault about, even if it wasn't a 'B' movie.

This is about philandering. It has at the center, a gold digger who is using planned extortion to get what she wants. She sets herself up, leaving little choice among her victims. Of course, the men are truly culpable and deserve much of what they get. The conclusion is pretty far fetched. If you are old enough to own a phonograph (turntable) you will get my point. The bad guys are depending a lot on some pretty random incompetence. This is interesting and has a few twists and turns, so it's not bad, but the conclusion is unsatisfying. The character of the young woman is pretty well portrayed and the acting isn't too bad. Still, it could have been better with a little more imagination.