Sometimes I wish I was as easily amused as most folks. This picture gets almost unanimous high ratings from reviewers, and, honestly, I missed the humor involved. I understand it was played for laughs and was made in a jocular vein, but it wasn't that funny. Here are some reasons for my dissent;
Marjorie Main, the matriarch of the homicidal family, was never funny. She wasn't funny in the 'Ma And Pa Kettle' series and was just a nasty, bad tempered old battle ax in anything she played in. And she doesn't disappoint here.
The twin characters played by Peter Whitney are threatening and not endearing characters, and when called upon to display a humorous side, he couldn't do it. The 'crick-in-the-back deal was semi-funny the first time.
Fred MacMurray, a fine actor and comedian, is reduced here to slapstick and pratfalls, which are best left to the Three Stooges and Laurel & Hardy. He tries gamely to overcome the lame script but the odds are stacked against him.
"Murder He Says" is at best a black comedy, and not a good one at that (Try "Arsenic And Old Lace"). Besides Fred MacMurray the best member of the cast is Helen Walker, a good actress who was great to look at. All in all, an overrated film and a waste of 90 minutes.
Marjorie Main, the matriarch of the homicidal family, was never funny. She wasn't funny in the 'Ma And Pa Kettle' series and was just a nasty, bad tempered old battle ax in anything she played in. And she doesn't disappoint here.
The twin characters played by Peter Whitney are threatening and not endearing characters, and when called upon to display a humorous side, he couldn't do it. The 'crick-in-the-back deal was semi-funny the first time.
Fred MacMurray, a fine actor and comedian, is reduced here to slapstick and pratfalls, which are best left to the Three Stooges and Laurel & Hardy. He tries gamely to overcome the lame script but the odds are stacked against him.
"Murder He Says" is at best a black comedy, and not a good one at that (Try "Arsenic And Old Lace"). Besides Fred MacMurray the best member of the cast is Helen Walker, a good actress who was great to look at. All in all, an overrated film and a waste of 90 minutes.