Cover Up (1949)

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Jerome Odlum (original screenplay), Dennis O'Keefe (original screenplay),

Stars:

William Bendix, Dennis O'Keefe, Barbara Britton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Bendix	...	Sheriff Larry Best
Dennis O'Keefe	...	Sam Donovan
Barbara Britton	...	Anita Weatherby
Art Baker	...	Stu Weatherby
Ann E. Todd	...	Cathie Weatherby
Doro Merande	...	Hilda
Virginia Christine	...	Margaret Baker
Helen Spring	...	Bessie Weatherby
Ruth Lee	...	Mrs. Abbey
Henry Hall	...	Mayor
Russell Arms	...	Frank Baker (as Russell Armes)
Dan White	...	Gabe
Paul E. Burns	...	Mr. Abbey
Emmett Vogan	...	Blakely
Jameson Shade	...	Editor (as Jamesson Shade)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | murder

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Taglines:

Love Is Like Murder... when you're in... you're in deep!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Some Rain Must Fall

Company Credits

Production Co:

Strand Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The vehicle used on the street is not the same vehicle used for close-ups. The first vehicle has a chrome horn ring and plaid seats. The used for close-ups has no horn ring; the seats are a mix of plaid and solid colors.

User Reviews

nice town tolerates murder

An insurance investigator (Dennis O'Keefe) arrives in a small town right at Christmas time to find out about an apparent suicide that his company may have to pay out for. He's met an attractive inhabitant (Barbara Britton) on the train ride into town. The person who O'Keefe's character is supposed to believe killed himself turns out to have been very unpopular. The evidence of his death points not to suicide but to murder, though everyone in the town from the bus driver to the sheriff (William Bendix) seem totally unfazed about what has happened. This could have been a lot more exciting if the townspeople had gone farther in trying to stop the investigation. They are all so nice and yet this guy is dead, and not by his own hand. So, ergo, it would seem that they are, in fact, not so nice after all, and that this town is covering up murder, though the film seems to be telling us that that is OK, that the dead guy somehow had it coming and that the spirit of Christmas overrides the evil of his murder. Nonetheless, a few parts stand out for being bizarre, most especially the one played by Doro Merande as Hilda, the housekeeper for Barbara Britton and her family, who in one scene is outside setting fire to the dad's fur coat and later tells everyone that it was an accident. All in all, though this is a strange movie, which is a good point, it seems shackled and prohibited from reaching its true realization.