Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

gridoon2018 I was under the impression that "The Murder Of Dr. Harrigan" is part of a movie series made in the 1930s about a nurse (played by a variety of actresses; Kay Linaker this time) who doubles as an amateur sleuth. However, the nurse does very little sleuthing here - it's her boyfriend (and doctor working at the same hospital) who figures out the how and the why of the murder(s), if not quite the who. Anyway, this B mystery is a little lacking in star power (Mary Astor is probably the most famous name in the cast, and she only has a secondary part), but the plot is engaging (it involves a variety of characters, each with his or her own agenda) and the pace is reasonably smooth considering that about 90% of the film takes place in a single set (the hospital). Worth watching. **1/2 out of 4.

blanche-2 "The Murder of Dr. Harrigan" is a short film in the Crime Club series, based on a story by Mignon G. Eberhart. Eberhart was a prolific mystery novelist, but I think this story made better reading than it did a film. This film stars Ricardo Cortez, Kay Linkater, John Eldredge, and Mary Astor.The plot concerns a formula for a new anesthetic - I never did get the name - it sounded like Slaypen - and a Dr. Melady lays claim as the primary owner, though others, like Dr. Harrigan, had helped to develop it. Melady wants Harrigan to operate on him and use the Slaypen, However, Harrigan is murdered, and Dr. Melady disappears.Most of the film revolves around the hospital elevator. For awhile, I couldn't figure out why the doctors and nurses kept manually closing the doors, and then I realized that although the elevator was automatic, apparently closing the doors was not yet automatic in 1936. Rather than use the elevator operator with that big wheel often seen in department stores years ago, they were just pulling the doors shut.Even coming in at just over an hour, this movie seems long because it's so talky, and most of the action is described rather than seen, The star, Ricardo Cortez, lays out the whole solution to the murder to the detective in charge at the end - but we didn't see much of it.The most entertaining things about this film are the old things: the elevator doors, the nurses' uniforms and caps, the rotary phones. As far as the acting, Cortez is an amiable presence, and Astor is very good. Mary Treen, a very familiar television face, has a small but showy role.

arieliondotcom Only a certain kind of audience likes these types of movies, the type that flocked to see The Thin Man a few years before this film and the sequel to the Thin Man the same year as this film. It's obvious by the attempts at humorous banter by the romantic leads that this is a thinly veiled attempt to cash in on the same audience back in the hey day of the Thin Man series as the TM movies were attracting. This is nowhere close to those movies with none of the chemistry (although a few quips are funny) and the required explanation of what is going on and who shot who is painfully dragged out and boring. None of the action as Nicky grills the group. And awful dialog (ex: "Glad, glad do you hear!") which is really painful to hear from the likes of Mary Astor.But I am someone who does enjoy these types of movies. It fascinates me how they announce the parts and actions as if they are still on the radio for the sake of those who can't see it. And I enjoy seeing the cultural elements (count how many times the word "negro" is used.)These films are like a quick glimpse into the campy past. And it's no mystery that glimpses of the past are always fun.

dgz78 One of the things a movie has to do is convince the audience that the actors are not reading lines but are talking as real people would. You don't have to have overlapping dialog like Hawks or Altman - just realistic dialog.Unfortunately Frank McDonald was no Howard Hawks or Robert Altman. Too many times actors cut off their lines before the other actor cuts in and any decent director would have re-shot the scene. But directors like McDonald were expected to make pictures quickly and cheaply. They were not supposed to be making art Sometimes a B picture would would defy expectations and become a classic. But for every Thin Man or It Happened One Night there were hundreds of Murder of Dr Harrigan. None of the actors stand out except a young Mary Treen who would go on to become an exceptional character actress in movies and especially TV.As a murder mystery fan, I didn't expect this to be on the level of Murder on the Orient Express or The Hound of the Baskervilles but I was at least hoping for something that would be acceptable for a Murder She Wrote episode. But the way Dr Cortez figures everything out didn't wash. Martin was the most obvious suspect to the police so you know he didn't do it. And you aren't given enough information to pin it on the real killer before he is revealed.Unless you are a big Mary Astor fan and want to see every movie she was in, you probably are better off avoiding this movie.