Funny lines abound, in this timeless, low budget classic, though I'm afraid only us New Yorkers will get some of the tag lines:
For instance, when a very obvious Jewish schoolboy (Isadore Katz) finds a wallet at the aquarium, and spends too much time staring at it, his teacher (Miss Withers), says, "Isadore, you're not LENDING money!" Or when secretary/floozy tells Miss Withers about a phone call she received, she explained, "It's not likely a WOMAN would call me 'baby'," Withers says, "No, not as far downtown as this", she's referring to the lesbians of Greenwich Village, further uptown on the West side (I guess the Village has been home to fruitcakes longer than I thought!) since the murder was committed downtown, in Battery Park, this would have been under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 1st Precinct, at South Street and Old Slip (It's still there; now the Police museum.)
Two things I didn't like were when the murdered man (I'd say he was about 6'2", over 200 pounds) is knocked unconscious by a 5' 7," skinny pipsqueak, using the weakest, flimsiest punch in movie history. Yeah, I know, B-movies have small budgets, but would it have killed the director to yell "cut" once in a while? Check this "punch" out next time you see it, and tell me I'm wrong.
And secondly, though this movie is supposed to take place in New York, virtually every character (except Inspector Piper) has some hokey Midwestern
accent; even uniformed, NYPD patrol cops sound like they're from Kansas, for goodness sake!
How about some authenticity, Mr. casting director?
Still, an enjoyable old-time classic. Ending caught me COMPLETELY by surprise, and I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out, long before most of audience does. I still can't figure out where in the movie the real villain is "outed". Any help?
I found this on a DVD on ebay, and I even bought the original paperback from 1931 online as well ($35.00). Highly recommended, but definitely not for everybody. Easily best Hildegarde Withers movie- no other one even comes close. I'm done.
For instance, when a very obvious Jewish schoolboy (Isadore Katz) finds a wallet at the aquarium, and spends too much time staring at it, his teacher (Miss Withers), says, "Isadore, you're not LENDING money!" Or when secretary/floozy tells Miss Withers about a phone call she received, she explained, "It's not likely a WOMAN would call me 'baby'," Withers says, "No, not as far downtown as this", she's referring to the lesbians of Greenwich Village, further uptown on the West side (I guess the Village has been home to fruitcakes longer than I thought!) since the murder was committed downtown, in Battery Park, this would have been under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's 1st Precinct, at South Street and Old Slip (It's still there; now the Police museum.)
Two things I didn't like were when the murdered man (I'd say he was about 6'2", over 200 pounds) is knocked unconscious by a 5' 7," skinny pipsqueak, using the weakest, flimsiest punch in movie history. Yeah, I know, B-movies have small budgets, but would it have killed the director to yell "cut" once in a while? Check this "punch" out next time you see it, and tell me I'm wrong.
And secondly, though this movie is supposed to take place in New York, virtually every character (except Inspector Piper) has some hokey Midwestern
accent; even uniformed, NYPD patrol cops sound like they're from Kansas, for goodness sake!
How about some authenticity, Mr. casting director?
Still, an enjoyable old-time classic. Ending caught me COMPLETELY by surprise, and I'm usually pretty good at figuring these things out, long before most of audience does. I still can't figure out where in the movie the real villain is "outed". Any help?
I found this on a DVD on ebay, and I even bought the original paperback from 1931 online as well ($35.00). Highly recommended, but definitely not for everybody. Easily best Hildegarde Withers movie- no other one even comes close. I'm done.