The King Murder (1932)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Charles Reed Jones (screenplay)
Charles Reed Jones (story)

Release Date:

10 October 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery

Plot:

A beautiful blonde makes a career out of seducing and then blackmailing wealthy married men. She is...

Plot Keywords:

Blackmail | Poison | Jewish Stereotype | Murder Investigation | Pawnbroker

Cast

Conway Tearle	...	Detective Chief Henry Barton
Natalie Moorhead	...	Elizabeth Hawthorn
Marceline Day	...	Pearl Hope
Dorothy Revier	...	Miriam King
Don Alvarado	...	Jose Moreno
Huntley Gordon	...	Arthur B. Bronnell
Maurice Black	...	Philip Scott
Robert Frazer	...	Van Kempen
Rose Dione	...	Miss Duval, Maid

Also Known As:

The King Murder Case

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation (I)

Trivia:

The film was fairly closely based on the real-life murder of New York showgirl Dorothy "Dot" King in March 1923. Like the character of Miriam King in the movie, the real Dot King was both a perpetrator and a victim of blackmail, and was having simultaneous affairs with at least two rich married men. Other films inspired by the Dot King murder include The Canary Murder Case (1929) and The Naked City (1948).

Soundtrack:

El Choclo

Bring Back Dorothy Revier!

It's a remarkable fact that some of the "B" directors like Richard Thorpe adapted to sound much faster than acclaimed "A" leaders like John Ford and Howard Hawks. Thorpe's Border Romance (1929) is very competently made indeed, and in this 1932 production he could still give some of the masters a keen lesson in pacing. Indeed, the first two reels move with such celerity that the average viewer needs to be really on his toes to keep up with the plot. And at this stage it's worth paying attention, because the sultry Dorothy Revier is right up there on the screen. When she is killed, the pace slows somewhat when the focus shifts to Marceline Day (who is too rake-thin for my taste) and plodding-as-she-goes hero, Conway Tearle. Nonetheless, the mystery is still intriguing enough, and Thorpe makes good use of Universal's standing sets to give the movie a bit of class. Natalie Moorhead is exotic enough to command a bit of interest, and an outstanding cameo by Rose Dione also helps. Alas, as usual in many of these Poverty Row thrillers, the solution to the mystery is somewhat contrived. Also disappointing is the revelation of the actual killer. In fact the whole climax is a letdown. One gets the impression that the producer ran out of money at this stage and simply wound the film down. Curtain!