Murder by Television

Murder By Television is one of Bela Lugosi's more obscure movies but at least it is available on video and DVD. I quite liked this.

While doing a worldwide broadcast promoting that new invention called television, a man suddenly collapses and looks as if he could have had a heart attack. His death was certainly not caused by his heart, it seems he was murdered by a death ray. The police are put on the case and there are plenty of suspects...

This is a nice little horror/mystery, even though a little short at under an hour.

Watch it if you get the chance.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

An inventor is killed and a boring investigation ensues. A B murder mystery starring Bela Lugosi with wooden performances from most of the cast, save for two cringeworthy turns from Hattie McDaniel and Allen Jung as stereotypical servants. It moves along at a snail's pace and struggles to maintain even a little suspense. The biggest selling point of this today is not Bela; he's very subdued in this and therefore not that interesting. The main reason to see this is for the fascinating historical elements. We get to see some early television technology and get an idea of how people viewed the concept of television back then. It's fun to watch a group of stuffy old people in tuxedos and gowns sitting around in stiff Victorian chairs to see a demonstration of this newfangled invention called television. Worth a look for Lugosi completists or anyone interested in television history.

I purchased this movie in 1984, when I was a teenager. It is a low-medium budget whodunnit and it's great.Bela shines playing the FBI agent hero and his greedy, manipulative twin brother.An early version of television proves to also be a conduit for the "Interstellar frequency, otherwise known as the death ray!".This film is fantastic fun and Bela oozes charisma throughout.You may also recognize a young Hattie McDaniel (Gone With The Wind).If you can find it, this a great little flick.

I am always amazed when I find yet another ultra-low budget film starring Bela Lugosi. While I do generally enjoy his films, they certainly were not 'high art' or very deep--and so many of them had downright crappy production values. Often it looked as if Bela would appear in ANY film provided the check cleared! You don't believe me, then think back to such horrid films as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, ZOMBIES ON Broadway, GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE (with the East Side Kids) and MURDER BY TELEVISION!!! However, often despite the terrible budgets and overall cheesiness of the films, they were still often fun to watch--or at least to laugh at due to their ineptness. Unfortunately, MURDER BY TELEVISION is that rare low-budget Lugosi film that actually is kind of boring and static. Despite being a murder mystery, the film is amazingly static and uninvolving. Plus, the roles played by Bela just seemed terribly written and bizarre--and not in a great way. The only major plus this film has that raises it to almost-mediocrity is the idea of television being a topic of a film as early as 1930. From a purely historical standpoint, it is an interesting film.

An inventor makes a TV network that does not need a relay to broadcast across the world. Everyone wants the secret to the electronic tube that can do this. It includes industries and governments and cabals.

During his maiden transmission of piano music, the inventor will reveal a new addition. Unfortunately, he is all choked up and the shadow of death crosses the screen. Yep, the inventor is dead and everyone that should have been watching the broadcast was elsewhere. Among the who-dun it's is Bella's twin brother. We also get the added how was it done?

The film was scratchy and badly cut. The dialog, well lots of talking, but little is relevant to the story. The plot was too ambitions for the simple conclusion.