Killer Dill (1947)

Director:

Lewis D. Collins

Writers:

Alan Friedman (story)
John O'Dea (writer)

Release Date:

2 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

How Funny Can A Picture Get??? You'll Know When You See Killer Dill!

Plot:

Door-to-door salesman Johnny Dill, the exact double of a notorious gangster, finds himself struck between the forces of good and evil. |

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Mistaken Identity

Cast

Stuart Erwin	...	Johnny 'Killer' Dill
Anne Gwynne	...	Judy Parker
Frank Albertson	...	William T. Allen
Mike Mazurki	...	Little Joe
Milburn Stone	...	Maboose
Dorothy Granger	...	Millie Gardner
Anthony Warde	...	Louie Moroni
Dewey Robinson	...	McGowan, house detective
Ben Welden	...	Big Nick Moroni
Julie Gibson	...	Joan, model
Shirley Hunter	...	Gloria
Lola Jensen	...	Other model with Joan
Margaret Zane	...	Girl with Gloria
Stanley Ross	...	Mushnose

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12177)

Company:

Max M. King Productions

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Supposedly taking place circa 1931, the film makes no attempt at period style or decor and sinks into a sea of anachronisms. All the women's clothes and hair styles as well as musical arrangements are contemporary 1947; the automobiles, though pre-war, are also of a much later vintage, mostly late 1930's and early 1940's.

Cheap, cheesy and unfunny

During the Prohibition era, mild-mannered underwear salesman Stu Erwin just happens to be an exact double for a notorious gangster, and winds up as the head of the local mob. Mistaken identity was a pretty hoary old plot device even for 1947, and director Lewis D. Collins does absolutely nothing new with it. Collins spent most of his career churning out cheap B westerns for the lower-rung studios and the even lower-rent independent states rights market, and it shows--the film has the raggedy, cheesy and rushed look of an ultra-cheap oater, and Collins shoots it like one: fast. There's no pacing, no build-up, no nothing, just a hurried succession of stale jokes, contrived situations and lackluster performances. Production values are almost nil--every time someone closes a door you expect to see the set come crashing down--and although it's supposed to take place during the Prohibition era of the 1920s, all the clothing and dialogue are strictly from the '40s, which makes you wonder why they bothered to set it during the 1920s in the first place. That's just one of the many downsides of this alleged "comedy". Do yourself a favor and don't bother to find out what the rest of them are. Skip this one.