Murder, He Says (1945)

Professional pollster Fred MacMurray (as Pete Marshall) arrives in the Ozarks, collecting data for a survey of rural areas. He's replacing another pollster, "Hector P. Smedley", who disappeared after encountering the murderous "Fleagle" family. Led by whip-cracking Marjorie Main (as Mamie), the hillbilly clan abducts Mr. MacMurray. They think he may know how to locate a missing $70,000. Also looking for the money is beautiful Helen Walker (posing as Bonnie), after a jail bust. She arrives with a gun, a cigar and a secret...Best part of this witty comedy is watching Peter Whitney play twins "Mert and Bert". Other than an early scene where Mr. Whitney's double keeps his back to the camera, you'd think they were real twins. The special effect, by Gordon Jennings and Paul Lerpae, is incredibly well-maneuvered. One highlight has director George Marshall coordinating the twins and MacMurray while the latter converses with an imaginary character. Another great scene occurs when MacMurray knocks Jenkins out and pretends they are one.******** Murder, He Says (6/23/45) George Marshall ~ Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Marjorie Main, Peter Whitney

Custom made for Fifties TV. Ma Kettle with a shotgun, but the gun doesn't make her any funnier--was she ever?--even for late 40's audiences, perhaps still around in Rick Perry territory, it dies on the vine.Predictable, silly, not really a lot of fun even as an historical piece.Most interesting thing was the clever filming of the same-actor twins.But really, a 1/2 hr episode of any "Lucy" show, built along the same nonsense, is funnier. Aside from "history" a waste of time.The hay bales wrapped around people at the end...all of them looked zonked. Was it really hay???! Ho ho Hah hah The ho's and ha's is about at the level of this

Guess I won't be making a trip to the backwoods anytime soon after seeing this advertisement for staying home. Just look at what happened to poor Pete Marshall (MacMurray). Here he is, some nicely dressed bureaucrat trying to do what his job tells him. So out he goes to the sticks to count noses and (shudder! shudder!) meets up with what can only be called The Hillbillies from Heck, otherwise known as the family Fleagle. First, there's Ma Fleagle (Main) who's just gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson and is now looking for new victims, with a voice about as gentle as an air raid siren. Then there's the brothers Fleagle, Mert and Bert (Whitney), whose combined IQ is about 25, which is just about how many tons their hulking frames can lift. And don't forget dear Granny (Paige) who's just resting up between pot shots at any stranger who mistakes her for their own grandmother. Put them together, courtesy ace director Marshall, and they redefine the whole idea of family values, plus, of course, the whole concept of evolution. And, oh yes, mustn't forget sweet, pretty Elany (Heather)—now, if she could just think as well as she looks or find a new tune with real words, well, who knows.And get a load of their Addams Family mansion, all secret passages and about as comfortable as a weekend at Alcatraz. Worse, drink the water and you light up like Broadway at midnight—just check out that that roulette wheel dinner. So, pity poor Pete once he crosses the threshold, it's just one hilarious mishap after another. Mix in 30-grand in missing loot somewhere on the premises, a fetching helper for Pete (Walker), plus a hay- bailer from heck, and you've got one of the funniest, most delightful madcaps of the 1940's. A real group triumph. So don't miss it.

As a previous comment suggests, Fred MacMurray had the rare talent for both serious drama and comedy that Cary Grant had. (I've always thought James Garner could have been in that circle had he only gotten the right scripts.)In the late '30s and early '40s Hollywood had fun with hillbillies (remember Judy Canova?). This is an example. The genre seems to have been put to bed with Deliverance, which took all the fun out of the backwoods.There are too many set comic scenes in Murder, He Says to relate. It's simply a superb comedy-mystery. I guess my two favorite bits are where a desperate MacMurray pretends to see a ghost and the twins aren't just too sure he doesn't see one. Then there's the fall-out-of- your-chair comic turn where MacMurray sits in a box on the groggy body of one of his pursuers--whose protruding legs have a life of their own. You really have to be there. Why isn't this thing televised more often?