Murder in a Small Town

Not being a Gene Wilder fan, the memory of Haunted Honeymoon being too fresh, I almost didn't watch this one. Glad, glad, double glad I did. The whole thing smacked of the 30's with all the hairstyles, props and settings, and all the well preserved cars. An excellent whodunnit that had me guessing all the way. The killer was suspicious, but I never....

Having lost his wife in a violent crime, theatre director Larry "Cash" Carter moves to a small town in Connecticut to get away from the stresses of bigger city life. Looking for funding for his latest play, Cash comes into contact with local millionaire Sidney Lassiter who immediately rubs him up the wrong way by being anti-Semitic and demanding. And so Cash finds himself just one of many people that have a reason to dislike Lassiter. So later that night when Cash's friend Lt Tony Rossini tells him that he is investigating Lassiter's murder, Cash helps out and gets involved in the case.

Having seen "The Lady in Question" and found it bland and undemanding fare, I still decided to give the other film in the stalled series a try. Like the second film this is very undemanding fare that will fit nicely with audiences that enjoy the basic mystery movies on Hallmark and the like (Mystery Woman, Jane Doe etc). The plot is interesting without ever getting going although the development of the case is reasonably engaging. Of course this means it lacks any depth which is rarely a problem when a film is slick and stylish, sadly this one tends to move sluggishly as if it has nowhere to go and nothing to do – an approach that rather flies in the face of face of the fact that a murder has occurred! The director does well if this was her aim but otherwise she plays it far too slowly and with a sense of urgency that was needed underneath.

The cast match this meandering approach and with a bit more help could have pulled it off. As it is they are just reasonably good in an average film. Wilder is a bit more interesting here than in the second film (where it did feel like he was just moments away from falling asleep at times). Here he is actually pretty good fun despite the material. Starr's character doesn't make a great deal of sense but he is a fun character. The two men have a bit of chemistry but it is difficult to believe they know one another that well because they don't merge that well – I assume this is part of the reason that the series didn't catch on. The support cast features turns from Lost's O'Quinn and Six Feet Under's Conroy and others like Edison and Rosen. None of them have much to do though and generally their characters are just quite thin.

Overall this is a mediocre or average film that might just be good enough to distract viewers who aren't looking for much more than that. The cast match the amiable and ambling mood which makes for some nice touches but generally just slows the film down further.

Gene Wilder is terrific in his over-the-top comedic triumphs ("The Producers", "Young Frankenstein", "Blazing Saddles", and more), but hasn't always been wisely used in more moderate roles. "Haunted Honeymoon" comes to mind!

This one, though, is extremely enjoyable, and I hope it's the beginning of a series. His performance is smart, restrained, believable, professional, and witty. The movie, a lovely period piece murder mystery, is a surprisingly effective vehicle for him. It has everything for a satisfying couple of hours on the sofa: 1930s costumes and cars, detective work, romance, and light comedy.

Let's have more of Wilder in this kind of role.

You can tell that Gene Wilder was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he wrote and starred in the 1999 made-for-TV film, Murder in a Small Town. Directed by Joyce Chopra and starring Wilder along with Mike Starr; Murder in a Small Town is a campy little TV movie set in the 20's reminiscent of the movie mysteries that commanded the screen in the era. When a string of murders begins to occur in the quiet Connecticut town, a widowed playwright will become influential in solving the crimes. I'm happy for Wilder that he became successful enough to do the kind of stories he wanted to do later in his acting career, Murder in a Small Town definitely fits into this category.

After his wife was murdered, Larry "Cash" Carter left his successful post in Broadway churning out success after success as a playwright to move to the sleepy town of Stamford, Connecticut. Since his move, he transitioned to work in community theater as a writer/director which left him plenty of time to pursue other interests of his. With a superb eye for detail and a knack for getting into the mind of a criminal, Cash became fast friends with a local detective Tony "Bologna", even helping him solve some of his cases. When the wealthy town jerk, Sidney Lassiter (Terry O'Quinn) is found dead, Tony enlists Cash's help in order to solve the case. When a second, yet intertwined murder is committed, Tony and Cash must work quickly to solve the time and protect the small town before it becomes any smaller.

Stamford Connecticut is where Gene Wilder moved to after he left Hollywood and all but retired from acting in the early 90's. It doesn't go unnoticed that this film takes place in Gene's hometown. He also worked on the script with his brother-in-law, Gilbert Pearlman. I've also seen enough interviews of Gene Wilder in where he admits that he enjoys watching mystery movies on TV. All of this data goes toward suggesting that Gene Wilder was doing exactly what he wanted to do with Murder in a Small Town. Although the movie is nothing to write home about, and although it's fun, you won't miss out if you skip it; it's still worth watching knowing that Wilder had worked up to the point in his life and career that he could only take on the jobs he really wanted to do. The later TV works of Wilder's, like this one, are a nice contrast to his more well-known work of the 70's and essential viewing for great fans of the veteran actor's.

This is a delightful well executed period murder mystery. The suspects are developed in the traditional manner early in the movie. The interaction between the detective and a drama producer is done with understated humor. There is in fact a lot of between-the-lines humor which Gene Wilder plays off in a brilliant manner. It is great to see Wilder in a role such as this, contrasting with his more over-the-top style of comedy acting in his early films. So what is there not to like in a well written story, well acted and with an evocative 1930's setting?