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Grief Street
USA 1931
produced by George R. Batcheller for Chesterfield
directed by Richard Thorpe
starring Barbara Kent, John Holland, Dorothy Christy, Crauford Kent, Lillian Rich, James P. Burtis, Larry Steers, Lloyd Whitlock, Lafe McKee, Creighton Hale, Raymond Largay, Walter Brennan (as Arthur Brennan), Henry Hall, Theodore Lorch, John Ince, Merrill McCormick, Kenne Duncan, Murcock MacQuarrie, Fred Parker
written by Arthur Hoerl
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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Stage actor Alvin Merle (Crauford Kent) is killed - apparently
strangled in his locked changing room, with nobody having been able to get
in or out at the time of the murder -, and the police try to figure the
whole thing out, but it seems a certain reporter, Jim Ryan (John Holland)
is always ahead of them, especially since one of the key witnesses (and
possible suspect), Jean (Barbara Kent) only confides in him, and falls in
love with him, too. Because you see, the murder didn't happen unannounced,
as Jean did receive a notethreatening Merle. Later though, she also
receives a note threatening Jim Ryan, but then she is shot at and almost
killed herself. Ryan though is finally able to put two and two together
when he learns that Merle wasn't strangled at all but poisoned, that Jean
was Merle's former mistress, and that stage manager Murray (Lloyd
Whitlock), who found dead Merle, was a former lover of Jean ... who killed
Merle out of jealousy, then wanted to get rid of Ryan for the very same
reason. In the end, Murray gets his just desserts. James P:Burtis
provides comedy relief as a thick-headed police Sergeant. Like
most murder mysteries from the 1930's, this one is far-fetched and
incredibly convoluted, which is not necessarily a bad thing, thing is
though, this film simply fails to properly shift into gear and only
presents the audience with one unlikely plottwist after another to keep
things moving ... but after a while, things get so confusing that they
refuse to move anymore ...
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