Mata-me Por Favor

... and I say that because the actors, usually good in what they do, seem so flat here. That's usually the director's fault.

Attorney Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr) tells his best friend, successful businessman Joe Leeds (Dick Foran) that he and Joe's wife Myra (Angela Lansbury) are in love and that she wants a divorce so that she can marry Craig. Joe says he is surprised by this revelation and needs a few days to decide what to do. Those "few days" pass, and end with Joe lying dead on his bedroom floor, shot to death by Myra who claims self-defense, saying Joe got violent over the impending separation and attacked her. Craig defends her and gets her acquitted. But then somebody who worked for Joe hands Craig a letter, written by Joe the night that he died, and it puts an entirely different spin on the situation.

This was made the year before Burr became famous as Perry Mason, and there are things in common with this performance and his performance as Mason. His character is pensive but gloomy, befitting a noir. The courtroom scenes are the only place where Burr becomes animated, and I could see flashes of his Perry Mason character here. I really don't feel any chemistry between Burr and Lansbury like I did between Burr and Barbara Stanwyck in "Crime of Passion", made later the same year, but when the story moves past that, his grim conviction works very well. Part of this could be because Lansbury has a rather stern screen presence, or maybe it's the bad direction I mentioned. This one has flashes of Double Indemnity with a wonderfully brief ending that leaves much to the imagination.

This film is in the public domain and thus there are no restored copies that I've run across, thus the film is dark and at times the dialogue is tough to hear. Yet the rather intriguing premise of the script makes it probably worth your while. Also note that the supporting actors who appeared here - Dick Foran, John Dehner, Robert Griffin, and Denver Pyle - all made appearances on Perry Mason over the years. I wonder if there was a connection with this film?

This is a small film, in that the stars weren't big-name stars of the day. PLEASE MURDER ME stars Raymond Burr (just before he made it big as Perry Mason), Angela Lansbury and Dick Foran--all capable actors, though hardly starring actors of the day. Despite this lack of star power and an apparent small budget, it's not a bad film--especially when there is a twist and the plot quickly changes about midway through the movie.

The film begins as Burr is sitting in his office in the darkness--dictating to a tape recorder that he's about to be murdered. Both the lighting and the idea of a man talking about his impending demise are very much in keeping with a Film Noir piece--as is the direction the film goes in the second half. As for the first half, it starts off with Burr telling his best friend that he has fallen for this friend's wife and wants to marry her! Oddly, instead of punching Burr in the face, the guy says he'll get back with Burr in a few days. However, after a few days, his wife shoots him--claiming he was trying to kill her. Did she do this in self-defense and what will her lawyer (Burr) do? While some of this is a bit predictable, it certainly all isn't and makes for a nifty little film. It's not 100% believable, but given that it's so entertaining, why worry about this? If you are interested in seeing it, it's in the public domain and can be downloaded for free from the IMDb site.

By the way, look for Denver Pyle in a small role as a detective testifying in court. It's interesting because Pyle lacks his usual heavy Southern accent and he seems quite at home playing a man living in the big city.

Don't know where this picture originated. There is no studio at the beginning of the credits and it doesn't look like a TV production, although several of the players went on to successful careers in Television. Besides Burr and Lansbury, John Dehner and Denver Pyle did lots of TV work on many different shows. It also May have been a 'B' from an obscure studio and played with a weak 'A' picture.

In any case, the end result is a watchable film well-acted by some old pros and without any outlandish plot device acting as a Deus Ex Machina - surprisingly well-written. The engrossing storyline makes up for some dead time in the middle. Not a bad effort all around.

This is a pretty darn good crime noir. Angela Lansbury really had a fine performance here as Myra Leeds. Myra is a money hungry woman and will use men to get what she wants. Raymond Burr is super in this too as Myra's lawyer Craig Carlson, Craig is another man in-love with Myra and her attorney who helps to acquit her for murder of her husband. Once the trial is over things really pick up as Craig finds out more information, information that proves Myra is guilty of murder - yet she cannot trialed twice for the same murder. Craig feels guilty for her acquittal but what is he to do about it? You'll have to watch to find out and the title of the film will make sense then.

This one I found worthwhile, really good and kept me interested from start to finish. I can easily recommend this film to fans of crime fiction and film noirs.

8/10

A mysterious stranger walks the seedy streets of a big city in a trench coat with the brim of his hat down low. The stranger stops in front of a business that -literally- has a PILE OF GUNS in the window display case and purchases a weapon. The opening credits explode onto the screen like gunshots as we see a close-up of the stranger loading bullets into the gun. Then the stranger goes into his dark office, sits at his desk, and records this story on a reel-to-reel tape recorder ...

"In exactly 55 minutes I will be dead!"

That stranger is Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr), Attorney at Law.

Then the Flashback: Craig is a very close friend to Joe Leeds (Dick Foran). They were war buddies, and after 15 years of friendship Craig must break the news to Joe that he is in love with his wife Myra (Angela Lansbury). Joe takes the news surprisingly well and tells Craig that he needs some time to sort things out in his head about how to move forward. Craig sees Myra later that evening and confesses what he did.

Then we see Joe arrive home to find Myra in bed reading a book. He enters, the door shuts, and we hear a gunshot! Myra is arrested for murder!

A good chunk of the film is about the court case. Naturally, Craig is Myra's lawyer and she is acquitted. The jury bought the idea that she shot her husband in self-defense.

Now that Myra and Craig are free to spend their lives together, Myra becomes curiously distant, and Craig discovers that Myra has a special friend ... the artist Carl Holt. So, maybe she was really guilty as charged and Craig saved her from the slammer?

Since Myra can't be tried twice for the same crime Craig hatches an elaborate plan to bring her to justice. And it's an unusual plan that he knows will end with his death.

This is a fairly good 50's Noir with an interesting ending.

Recommended!