Murder with Pictures (1936)

Associate producer: Edward F. Cline. Producer: A.M. Botsford. Copyright 25 September 1936 by Paramount Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Rialto: 20 November 1936. 7 reels. 69 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A gangster beats a murder rap, only to be gunned down by either a mystery woman or possibly a reporter. COMMENT: A typical Paramount "B" in that most of the action (and exhilaratingly fast-paced action it is too) is saved for the final reel. Elsewhere, we have to make do with a rather talky screenplay enlivened by a few wisecracks from somewhat dull hero Lew Ayres (assisted by the delightful Joyce Compton) yet weighed down by the dead hand of Frank Sheridan as a continuously ranting-to-little-effect police chief. Onslow Stevens delivers an effective study of a personable yet ruthless gangster and it's good to see Ernest Cossart making hay in an unusual role as his attorney. Cult favorite Gail Patrick is in there pitching too. Director Barton makes the most of a conspicuously uneven script which often descends into static chatter as soon as the story gains interest. These dull passages enable even less astute audiences to detect a few gaping holes in the plot. Still, the grand chase climax and revelation make up for most of the inertia. Best acting? I'd pick Joe Sawyer over Paul Kelly any day. Admittedly, despite his smallish role, Joe has the sharper lines.

This is not one of the best mystery films from the 1930s - but it's not the worst. The film is kinda cute and kinda fun but nothing special - it's a run-of-the-mill, typical 1930s comedy-crime mystery (it's not tagged a comedy there is quite a bit of comedy in this film - in particular the shower scene).Basically a murder was caught on film by one of the news photographers the question is: is it one of the photographers or one of the women in the room? Meg Archer being the prime suspect.It's one of those okay afternoon type of films when nothing else is on or if you are just wanting something a little different to watch - but the film is nothing brag about.5/10

This is a B-movie from Paramount. How it has lapsed into the public domain, I have no idea--but regardless it's available for download from the link on its IMDb page.The film stars a young Lew Ayers as a smart-mouthed newspaper photographer (as bit of a cliché). When a murder occurs, a lady who is the police suspect (Gail Patrick) asks Ayers to hide her. This is one of the oldest and worst clichés of murder mystery films as in real life no one would shelter a murder suspect no questions asked! And, if they were dumb enough to do this, then the murder suspect would most likely kill them for their trouble! But, in B-movie fashion, you know she CAN'T be the killer. The rest of the film, Ayers investigates and proves that the handsome hero is ALWAYS smarter than the stupid cops (yet another familiar cliché)--led by Joe Sawyer as the investigator (a rather familiar role for him). And how does he intend to do this? Yep, one of the oldest plot ideas--with a supposed photo that will prove who the murderer is! As you can tell from my description, the film abounds with clichés--the sort that fans of classic films will quickly recognize. Because of this, the film is not exactly original act. However, the acting and overall polish of the movie are nice--making it at least a tolerable time-passer.

Lew Ayres and Gail Patrick both give good performances, and the two of them plus a fast-paced story make this an enjoyable B-feature. The crime/mystery story is often implausible, but it provides some interesting developments and it creates some good action.Ayres and Patrick were both pretty talented performers, and their roles offer each of them some good material. Ayres plays an easygoing news photographer who gets involved in a murder case, in which Patrick's strong-minded character plays an uncertain role. It's good to see Patrick get a more prominent role than usual, even in a low-budget feature, and her elegance fits in well.The story uses a number of offbeat details to keep things moving, and this helps to hold your interest in the story as well as in masking some of the low production values. This is not bad at all for a movie of its kind, and it provides an hour or so of good light entertainment.