The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939)

The zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Nat Perrin (screenplay), S.S. Van Dine (based on the book by),

Stars:

Gracie Allen, Warren William, Ellen Drew

Cast

Cast overview:
Gracie Allen	...	Gracie Allen
Warren William	...	Philo Vance
Ellen Drew	...	Ann Wilson
Kent Taylor	...	Bill Brown
Jed Prouty	...	Uncle Ambrose
Jerome Cowan	...	Daniel Mirche
Donald MacBride	...	Dist. Atty. John, Markham
H.B. Warner	...	Richard Lawrence
William Demarest	...	Police Sgt. Ernest Heath
Judith Barrett	...	Dixie Del Marr
Sam Lee	...	Thug (as Sammy Lee)
Al Shaw	...	Thug
Richard Denning	...	Fred
Irving Bacon	...	Hotel Clerk

Storyline

The zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a nightclub that night, Gracie inadvertently links Bill to the murder of a thug after finding the dead body and Bill's cigarette case at the scene of the crime. While being questioned at the club, she meets Vance who's investigating the homicide. After Gracie's bungled attempts to solve the case, Vance decides it might be easier to have her working with him. Despite Gracie's "help," the two eventually find the real killer.

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Plot Keywords:

philo vance | sergeant | sequel | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Comédia de um Crime

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

S.S. Van Dine wrote the Gracie Allen Murder Case in 1938 to introduce his real life friend, Gracie Allen, into a Philo Vance Murder Mystery. George Burns made a appearance in the novel as the head perfume-smeller at the In-O-Scent Perfume Corporation, but is not in the movie version of the novel.

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Connections

Follows The Canary Murder Case (1929)

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Soundtracks

"Snug as a Bug in the Rug"
Music by Matty Malneck
Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Gracie Allen

User Reviews

Not so bad after all!

Everyone dislikes this picture. Especially George Burns, who had the good sense not to appear in it. (His part was re-written to accommodate Kent Taylor). Gracie, of course, was stuck. Her good friend, S.S. Van Dine, had written the novel just for her. So who else could play the title role? ZaSu Pitts? Billie Burke? Perhaps Alice Brady might have given it a twirl had she not gone all serious in In Old Chicago.

Well, actually, on approaching the movie a second time, I found it not so bad after all. Not riotously funny, mind, but tolerably entertaining at worst and quite enjoyable at best. The climax is even reasonably suspenseful.

Production values generally come well up to the mark. The support cast is great. Warren William (who played Vance in 1934's Dragon Murder Case) makes a delightful straight man, Ellen Drew impresses as the heroine, H.B. Warner has a grand time as the lawyer, and it's hard to ignore Jerome Cowan as the slimy Mirche.

Aside from its over-extended, hands-on fade-out, Green's direction has enough pace to overcome most of Gracie's flat-footed business and dialogue. And although we are blinded by an outpouring of light every time the camera focuses on the said Miss Allen, photographer Charles Lang does manage more than a few pleasingly atmospheric effects.