Double Exposure

First, I did not know that director William berke worked for Paramount Studios. Second, I did not know that Chester Morris also worked for Paramount. Now that said, this comedy is quite enjoyable, fast paced, but also quite forgettable. More comedy than supposed more or less crime scheme, I don't advise it to crime flicks lovers, because it has nothing to do with any suspense nor thrill provider of any kind. I would be unable to summarize it. Totally uninteresting, except for comedy lovers from this period. I agree that the atmosphere is pretty agreeable, because destined to audiences who seeked to forget the horrors of war; don't forget it was made in 1944. Studios avoided gloomy, downbeat topics. You can guess why.

Double Exposure casts Chester Morris as the editor of a photo journalistic magazine called Flick who on the strong suggestion of the owner Richard Gaines hires Nancy Kelly as a new staff photographer. Chet likes her, but she comes as a package deal along with Philip Terry whom she says is her brother.

The film is from the budget school of Pine-Thomas who did the B films for Paramount. It moves at a nice clip and abruptly changes from comedy to murder mystery as Kelly is arrested for the murder of Jane Farrar the latest in a long line of wives for playboy Charles Arnt. Arnt's been giving Kelly the three times over and wouldn't mind adding her as yet another trophy wife.

The editor part fits Morris well and it was a break though not much of one from Boston Blackie. Farrar until she turned up dead was one hot tempered wife who was not in a mood for explanations. It's part of what gets her killed. Gaines is also memorable as the boss who makes all his employees take part in his physical fitness regimen.

Not a bad film as a second feature, probably to some Crosby or Hope film Paramount was featuring in 1944.

A Real Charmer From The old Days. I thought of this movie as a classic Comedy/Romance and Very good looking for it as well. A well Casted Ballot Filled With Entandrable Roles Filled With Funny Lines and Fine Arrangements. Really A Good Looking Movie Being From Its Era It Stands up Nicely With The Times. Although A Bit Short Of Script With A Run time: 1:02:24 It Appropriates With The Era. What I Most Remember About This Movie Was The Dialog Was Short And Sweet. I think It Moved The story Along Quite NIcely. The Productin company was Production Company: Pine-Thomas Productions an Ample Comany to Take On A Project Like This. A Remake Might Be In store For This One?!

Chester Morris stars with Nancy Kelly, Philip Terry, and Jane Farrar star in "Double Exposure" from 1944.

Chester Morris as Larry Burke works at a picture magazine called Flick, and he's not above faking a shot to get a good cover. The company needs photographers, so when his boss sees a plane crash photo done by one Pat Marvin, he has Larry hire him.

When Pat arrives, he's a she, and a very attractive one at that. Pat has left behind a boyfriend, Ben (Terry) to come to New York, except that he shows up. She tells Larry that Ben is her brother. Larry gives him a job as well.

Larry assigns Pat and Ben to a fictional murder mystery case that will involve photos. Pat has attracted a millionaire who is on his sixth wife or so and is going to Reno to divorce him. He gives Pat the keys to his apartment. So she and Ben set up the murder scene there.

To their surprise, there is a murder at the apartment later - and the pose is exactly like Pat's, face down on the divan. Naturally the police arrive. They believe Pat photographed the murdered woman after killing her, so she's indicted and is stuck in jail. Larry loves the publicity, but he realizes the murder has to be solved to get her out. So he goes to work.

Funny, fast-moving film with some wild characters, including the crazy boss who makes his employees do calisthenics and passes out carrots. Morris and Kelly have good chemistry.

I especially loved the photo faking which included a lot of cutting, pasting, and white-out. Just think, with Photoshop it would have been nothing.

William Pine and William Thomas -- Paramount's B producers who took sturdy projects and turned out decent movies on modest budgets, earning them the appellation of "The Dollar bills" -- have a fine one-hour flick in this movie. Nancy Kelly gets a photography gig at a New York magazine, with wolfish Chester Morris as her boss; she totes along would-be fiancé Philip Terry, claiming he is her brother, to stand off Morris. She's smart, hard-working and they gradually fall in love, with many a quip, when a murdered woman pops up -- and it looks exactly like the picture of Miss Kelly that she posed for the magazine; her alibi is Mr. Terry, but he's been shipped out on a convoy to Russia and lost at sea.

Richard Gaines is along as the health-nut publisher, and there are a lot of good gags for the first three-quarters of the picture, until the murder mystery takes over. Dewey Robinson as a cab driver also has a few good lines.