Cover Up (1949) User Reviews

Well worth the $2.99 I paid for it

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 23 April 2006]

Before his company will pay out, an insurance investigator (Dennis O'Keefe) arrives in a small town to look into an apparent suicide. But he immediately begins to suspect something's not quite right. No gun, no powder marks, no bullet, no coroner's report, and no sheriff's report seem to lead to no suicide. Was it suicide – or was it something even more sinister?

It may not be the noir I was expecting, but Cover-Up is a nice little 40s style mystery. The plot kept me going up to the end. It's full of red herrings and I could have never guessed the outcome. Other than the It's a Wonderful Life style ending, I've got nothing to complain about. The cast is more than capable with Dennis O'Keefe, William Bendix, and Barbara Britton giving nice performances. I'm not all that familiar with Britton, but it's easy to see why she was a Revlon Girl for more than a decade. The cast also features Doro Merande who steals every scene in which she appears.

I picked up the DVD on the budget Geneon label. If you don't mind a lack of extras (and that includes the absence of a menu), it's not a bad deal for the money. The cover art is misleading. I have no idea what movie it was taken from, but it most certainly wasn't Cover-Up.

Cover Up **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 2 March 2006]

Another nice discovery for me: a pretty good thriller which, though not exactly a film noir, features two staples of the genre – Dennis O'Keefe and William Bendix – in top form. Their rapport throughout is quite delightful and this, along with the equally refreshing charms of leading lady Barbara Britton and the distinct Christmas flavor of its small-town setting, creates an overall mood of warmth not easily found in murder mysteries! The plot (whose insurance-investigation angle clearly derives from Billy Wilder's DOUBLE INDENMITY [1944]) provides a good amount of tension – and red herrings – along the way, while the final revelation (bearing an unexpected moral emphasis) concludes the film on a satisfying note.

One important question...why would the insurance company want to investigate if it's been ruled a suicide?!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 19 September 2015]

I am no insurance expert, but I thought that in cases where someone killed themselves that their beneficiaries did not receive anything. So why would an insurance investigator, Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe), investigate this in the first place? And, why would he try to prove it was a murder? I think this is a HUGE problem with the plot of "Cover Up"...unless I am mistaken.

The story begins with Donovan arriving in town to do his investigation. Surprisingly, most everyone in town either avoids him or lies--and Sam is very tired of it. To make things worse, the Sheriff seems ambivalent when Sam's investigation shows that the man was murdered.

If you can ignore the inconsistency of an insurance investigator trying to make his company pay out the biggest claim instead of the smallest, it is an interesting film. Not a great film but interesting and worth seeing despite its flaws.

By the way, I wish the film had used a ballistics expert to consult, as the film made a couple mistakes I noticed. First, Sam fires a gun (to get a ballistics comparison of the bullet) and IMMEDIATELY picks up the slug with his bare hands. It would be super-hot--and you'd either want to wait a moment or use gloves. Second, one piece of evidence that Sam has that convinces him the dead guy was murdered was that the killer was left-handed. Well, I am a right hander in everything...but I shoot left. This is not too uncommon, actually, as you often shoot based on your dominant eye not your dominant hand.

Better Than Expected

[dougdoepke · 22 January 2011]

In my book, this little non-studio production exceeds bottom-of-the-bill expectations. It's a good cast, a tight script, and an intriguing non-noir mystery. So why aren't small town locals cooperating with insurance investigator O'Keefe as he looks into a suicide or maybe murder. Surprisingly, the sheriff (Bendix) seems especially indifferent. Good thing the Weatherby's elder daughter (Britton) is there to brighten up his stay.

The production does an excellent job blending the mystery ingredient with lighter moments and the romantic angle. I especially like the sparkling Britton and bubbly teenager Todd who combine with the others to make the Weatherby's a charmingly suspicious family. Bendix too excels as the laconic sheriff—just what is his pipe smoking angle. Then too, his verbal fencing with the persistent O'Keefe is unusually well scripted and performed. At the same time, I kept expecting one or the two to finally drop the fencing and take a poke. The ending, in particular, is rather surprising and unconventional for the time.

Too bad the delightful Britton never rose to the top rank she merits. The screen lights up every time she appears. Nonetheless, this obscure little feature is the kind of sleeper that old movie fans, like me, take special delight in catching up with.

Not a bad little mystery flick

[FrankiePaddo · 6/10 · 29 August 1999]

A good, economical little b movie, with a wonderful female lead , Britton, who is stunning and a straight faced male lead, O Keefe. Enough red herrings to keep one amused, as long as you are not looking for a classic.

A cheerful and intelligent whodunit takes place around the holiday season

[Ed-Shullivan · 7/10 · 16 October 2017]

A good black and white mystery/murder story with some good acting and an interesting mystery that an insurance investigator named Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) must match wits with the small town sheriff named Larry Best (Willia Bendix) who claims the investigator Sam Donoovan is incorrect in his thinking and should just accept that the death of a prominent man in town was a suicide, and not a murder.

Sam Donovan is suspicious of Sheriff Best's claim of a suicide so he decides to stick around and stick he does, his nose that is. As the town is just in the process of getting ready to light up the towns Christmas tree at their annual street festival the town is advised of another sudden death of the towns beloved doctor from an apparent heart attack. The mystery thickens, and so does the insurance investigator Sam Donovan's affection for a lovely local lass named Anita Weatherby (Barbara Britton).

As the film progresses more clues are discovered that challenge Sam Donovan to question whether the whole town is hiding something about the murder victim who has a $20,000.00 life insurance policy that will pay out double indemnity to the victims niece if in fact it was not a suicide but rather a murder.

The film has some light humour, a new romance blossoming, a Christmas theme, and a battle of wits between the insurance investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) and Sheriff Best (William Bendix). I liked the film throughout, and I have always been fond of the 1940's period, especial murder/mystery themes. I give the film a 7/10 rating.

"I think you're gonna be loyal to trouble".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 12 July 2016]

Another reviewer nailed it, I think - a term life insurance policy is essentially a bet the company takes with a customer that says it will pay off if the customer dies. However a suicide turns the bet into a sure thing for anyone who INTENDS to die for whatever reason, be it terminal illness or one's conflicted desire to provide financial reward to a loved one. So virtually no insurance policy will pay off on a suicide, unless there's a provision that says otherwise.

So right off the bat, the film started off on shaky ground because that whole idea kept distracting me throughout the story. As for the double indemnity business, I think Donovan's boss stated that it was a good idea to pursue the murder angle because it was good public relations for the company, a way to increase business based on the publicity of a doubled payout. I don't know, it doesn't sound like a sound business practice to me.

But casting all that aside, the picture did a fairly good job of keeping the viewer on one's toes with the suspicious nature of the principal characters, especially Sheriff Best (William Bendix), who if this was a Western, would have all the characteristics of being in the pocket of the town boss. Other characters were quite intriguing too, I got a kick out of the Weatherby housekeeper Hilda (Doro Merande), surreptitiously offering investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) mysterious hints, and then burning a piece of evidence 'by accident'. Young Cathie Weatherby (Ann E. Todd) was a hoot too, can you imagine a teenager fascinated by insurance and mathematics? Oh, boy.

Though the resolution of the murder angle is offered in a way that almost sounds plausible, I couldn't help thinking that this town of Cleberg was one dysfunctional little community. With one of the best kept secrets in movie history, the entire citizenry (at least the ones Donovan came in contact with) managed to stay silent about the Phillips case while strongly suggesting the investigation be dropped. I was pretty surprised actually that Donovan went along with the recommendation to spare the community's feelings by not revealing the murderer. By so doing, everyone else along with the sheriff could go back to pursuing their own life of Riley.

nice town tolerates murder

[RanchoTuVu · 7/10 · 10 February 2011]

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.

Insurance investigator unravels complicated murder cover up with little help from victims associates and family

[snicewanger · 6/10 · 21 May 2016]

Dennis O'Keefe, Barbara Britton and William Bendix star in this mystery about an insurance investigator who arrives in a small town to investigate the death of a policy holder.O'Keefe portrays Sam Donovan who is trying to learn the reason for a clients sudden death . The indifferent sheriff played by Bendix and the rest of the people in the small town who knew the man insist the cause of death was suicide and are openly hostile to Donovan's investigation.Donovan quickly ascertains that the cause of death was really murder, but no one seems to care. Even the niece of the dead man, when she is told by Donovan that there is a double indemnity clause for murder in his policy says that she does not want it. Lovely Barbara Britton plays Anita Weatherby the oldest daughter of the town's banker. She arrives on a bus in to and gets acquainted with Donovan,not knowing who he is or why he has come. She is very attracted to him but when she learns his assignment she becomes apprehensive that the town, her family, and feelings for Donovan will be negatively affected . Cover Up is relatively non violent. You never see the victim and the murder is really only speculation. It even has a hard to swallow morality ending. Nobody gets beat up,or threatened, and the pleas for Sam to just let the investigation go are more passive aggressive then raw anger. Britton is really good as Anita Weatherby in this film and there is a nice turn by Doro Merande as Hilda, the Weatherby's housekeeper, cook, and watch dog. Cover Upis a watchable film. with some dependable actors who give solid performances . A worthwhile way to pass an hour and 15 minutes

An Unconventional Crime Thriller

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 12 January 2017]

"Baby Face" director Alfred E. Green's provocative mystery "Cover-Up" lives up to its title. This deceptively bland movie concerns a homicide in a rural town, and everybody in the town hated the individual who was gunned down in his own home. An outsider who represents a large insurance company arrives, but he doesn't accept the questionable the story that everybody else buys. They believe the victim committed suicide. Nevertheless, the sheriff does his best to shield the real murderer from exposure for the crime. Initially, the hero sticks around to prove his theory about murder rather than the contrived charge of suicide. Eventually, however, the insurance man changes his point of view and adopts the perspective of the sheriff. Meantime, he encounters the girl of his dreams, and they fall in love. "Cover Up" received several negative reviews, but I think that these spectators have misjudged this modest but effective movie. Interestingly enough, one of the two scenarists, Jonathan Rix was actually leading man Dennis O'Keefe. "Highway Dragnet" scribe Jerome Odlum penned this offbeat melodrama that benefits from "Hitler Gang" lenser Ernest Lazlo's atmospheric cinematography.

Chain-smoking Insurance Detective Sam Donaldson (Dennis O'Keefe of "Raw Deal") is dispatched by his company to investigate the apparent suicide of a policy holder, Roger Phillips, in a closely-knit small, Mid-western town. Sam discovers many provocative things about this suicide that don't add up and leads him to suspect Phillips didn't commit suicide. Instead, Sam concludes that the suicide was really murder. When the movie opens, we see a train pull into a railway depot and a fashionably attired woman, Anita Weatherby (Barbara Britton of "So Proudly We Hail") gets off it with Christmas packages piled high to her chin. Naturally, Anita cannot hold the load and drops some presents. Gallantly, Sam volunteers to help Anita, and the seeds of romance are sown. Sam is baffled when he learns that Phillips has already been buried; no coroner's report has been filed; and the bullet that killed him is missing. Furthermore, according to the undertaker, the body contained no powder burns from a gun having been discharged at close range. Eventually, cantankerous Marlowe County Sheriff Larry Best (William Bendix of "Detective Story") not only provides Sam with the bullet that he found at the scene of Phillips' death, but also that he states that a Luger was the kind of automatic pistol used to kill Phillips. Meanwhile, Sam's superior at the Insurance agency tells him to get to the bottom of the case.

Before long, Sam learns that Anita's father, Stuart Weatherby (Art Baker of "The Beginning or The End"), had given the local town doctor a Luger that he brought back with him from World War I. Mistakenly enough, Sam suspects that Stuart committed the crime. Indeed, Sam has the local newspaper publish a false story to lure Stuart into showing up at the late doctor's house to incriminate himself. Stuart's housekeeper burns the newspaper with the fake article in it and then burns Weatherby's decades old beaver coat handed down to him by his own father. When the dead man was found, the murderer stood over him with a coat dripping with water. Sam believes that a forensic specialist will be able to link the water that dripped off the coat to Stuart's coat, but the housekeeper burns the venerable coat. This doesn't prevent Stuart from taking the bait and falling into Sam's trap. The big resolution scene reveals that Stuart didn't kill the policy holder. Instead, a doctor who died recently from a heart attack but who was held in high regard by the community was responsible for killing the man.

William Bendix plays the suspicious sheriff, and we suspect that he may have been responsible for the crime. "Cover up" is a good movie, but it is far from conventional. The idea that a murderer could get away with a crime because his exposure as a murderer would ruin his reputation is an interesting concept.

An interesting mystery with a few odd plot devices

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 20 April 2017]

Shortly before Christmas the most hated citizen in a small town dies by gunshot wound, declared by the law to be a suicide. Into town comes insurance investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) to investigate the death and see if all loose ends are tied up since the deceased has a 20K life insurance policy - about 200K in today's money. Nothing could be less conclusive than this investigation. When Sam goes to talk to the town sheriff and ask about the weapon, the sheriff (William Bendix) says it is missing. When Sam asks about the bullets that killed him, the sheriff says the coroner left them in the deceased since it was obvious what killed him and how he died. Only when Sam threatens to get a court order does the sheriff produce the bullets.

In other words, if the sheriff was trying to deflect suspicion of this being anything but a suicide his obvious lies and stonewalling has had the expected opposite effect. In fact everybody in town is stonewalling Sam. Thinking this could be murder, Sam continues to dig, and continues to get furtive glances and obvious lies from everybody in the town. It also turns out that the deceased was just plain mean and everybody from the sheriff on down had a motive to kill him. Meanwhile Sam is having a serious romance with the daughter of the town banker who also had a motive to kill the insured.

What are the odd devices in this film? The hated deceased/insured guy is never seen. He is dead before the film begins and we never see him in flashback. There is another character who turns out to be important to the plot who is never seen - the town doctor who was out of town but has a heart attack shortly after returning who is talked about in the most glowing of terms by everybody. Again - never seen in live action or flashback.

So we have a death that may be murder against the backdrop of a small town Christmas post-war, the descriptions by the townspeople of two dead people who seem to have had opposite personalities but whom we never see for ourselves, and all of the townspeople acting like pod people when it comes to stonewalling the investigation, including the sheriff who is so obvious that he creates doubt rather than eliminates it. And why does the insurance company let their guy even try to prove it is murder when they will have to pay out double if it is? A reason is given, but I don't buy it, not even from corporations sixty years ago.

Watch this one if you can. It certainly will keep you interested and guessing.

My introduction to Film Noir!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 6 December 2017]

I first came across "Cover Up" way back in 1949 when it appeared at a Saturday afternoon matinée yet, on first release! This 13-year-old was most impressed. I found the characters intriguing and the murder mystery plot both thrilling and ingenious.

All elements in fact were handled with considerable finesse by director Alfred E. Green and his cast of seasoned players.

The ingrown small-town setting seemed ideal for both its noirish atmosphere and its ability to provide a conflict between the local citizens, anxious to keep small-town affairs within the community, and outside insurance investigator, Dennis O'Keefe, equally anxious to bring the true facts to light.

Script-wise, the investigator's zeal seemed a little unconvincing, but I let it pass, otherwise we would have no story.

O'Keefe's opposite number in the plot is William Bendix, who plays the local sheriff with just the right blend of suppressed antagonism and official non-helpfulness.

And then, caught in the middle, we have the lovely heroine, Barbara Britton.

All told, a satisfying thriller with only one discordant note in the chain-smoking O'Keefe who no longer seems such an admirable hero in our present society. (The Geneon DVD release rates at least 9/10).

Small town America in a state of tension

[robert-temple-1 · 7/10 · 14 October 2010]

Despite the title and Dennis O'Keefe as the star, this B film is not a film noir. It is about a small town in Middle America where everyone in the town seems to be trying to conspire to cover up a murder. Dennis O'Keefe arrives in town as an insurance investigator. He is there as a matter of routine because the company for which he works has provided life insurance for the deceased. The sum insured is mentioned as $20,000, and everyone speaks of it breathlessly, and it is hard to realize that in those days $20,000 really was a substantial amount of money. That says a lot about inflation over time. The man is said to have committed suicide. However, O'Keefe is very smart and he soon realizes that the man was murdered. His efforts to bring this to the attention of the local sheriff, played by William Bendix, meet with a stone wall. There is a double indemnity clause in the insurance policy which says that if the person is murdered the payout will be double. But when O'Keefe offers to pay the extra $20,000 to the niece of the murdered man, she refuses it, insisting that her uncle committed suicide. O'Keefe is baffled by this refusal of so much extra money. The murdered man turns out to have been 'a poison in his community', who was hated by everyone in town. In fact, everyone in town had a motive to murder him. It is a very good yarn in theory, but mystery and tension are sacrificed to other aims, namely to concentrate on the dilemma of O'Keefe's budding romance with a girl called Anita, played by Barbara Britton. The murdered man was killed with a 9 mm German Lugar. Both the sheriff and Anita's father have such Lugars. Things are looking very bad indeed, as one of them seems to be the killer. The other main aim of the film is to concentrate on the cozy, though currently unsettled, life of the small town. It is snowing and it is nearly Christmas. People are lighting up their trees and getting the turkeys ready for roasting, tying up their presents, and O'Keefe (who has no family of his own) gets involved in the festivities while he is at the same time carrying out an investigation which threatens many of those with whom he is associating. If the intention had been to make a film noir, a great deal more mystery and suspicion and conflict would have been created, and the film would be dark and moody. Instead, the film attempts to retain a cheerful air, which belies the tensions underneath. Barbara Britton smiles charmingly, O'Keefe is falling for her like a schoolboy, her father is genteel and reassuring, and only the sheriff appears truly suspicious, though even he has a twinkle in his eye and casts mischievous little smiles aside from time to time, which suggest that he is not a bad guy after all. No attempt is made by the director to suggest any real sense of threat or menace. Everybody is simply too goody-goody, and there are no obvious villains. Well, the ending has something to do with the season of the year, and it is by no means obvious, but I won't spoil things by discussing that. The catchline for the film is: 'a small town with big secrets'. That is certainly true, but don't expect a nail-biter. The suspense is so diluted in this film that it should rather be described as diverting than absorbing. As a result, Dennis O'Keefe is not as effective as usual, because he was best in films where things get really tough, and here he has to be Mr. Nice Guy who in between wooing his gal dabbles in proving and explaining a murder, and worrying whether his gal and her father are involved in it. In other words, the focus is on the romantic conflict rather than on whodunit. You could call this a 'soft noir', or perhaps a 'black marshmallow', since it aims to be tasty, chewy and sweet with a dusting of crime sprinkled over it for appearance's sake.

This town isn't normal.

[hitchcockthelegend · 5/10 · 7 January 2009]

Isurance investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) arrives in a small town to look into an apparent suicide. Almost immediately he begins to suspect something's not quite right here, getting no hope from the police, the absence of the gun, and no coroner's report, the evidence points to foul play, but can Sam get to the bottom of it?

Neither bad nor especially good, Cover Up is the sort of Saturday afternoon picture that TV schedulers put on as a precursor to the main event. Very nice and intriguing mystery (backed up by a cool denouement) and characters nicely played by a capable bunch of pros. O'Keefe is fine and plays out nicely as a sort of Insurance Mackintosh Sam Spade, William Bendix is underused but adds a touch of credibility to proceedings, while Barbara Britton is the shining light of the film with a very watchable performance. Clocking in at just 82 minutes, Cover Up does just enough to have made it worth your relatively short viewing time. And it's set at Christmas as well! 5/10

How else would he have solved it? (spoiler)

[VernC · 27 June 2002]

O'Keefe and Bendix play off each other well. Pity they only made two films together.

This whodunit had one of the standard B conclusions -- the murderer was left handed. There are a lot of perfect crimes in the B's that would have gone unsolved except that the guilty party was unwise enough to be born a South Paw.

If he shot himself it's the first time in history that a gun just got up and walked away!

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 15 January 2011]

***SPOILERS*** This turned out to be a very strange and baffling case for Federated Insurance investigator Sam Donovan, Dennis O'Keefe,to crack. The dead man Mr. Phillips supposedly shot himself with a German luger but the gun bullets as well as death certificate were nowhere to be found! In fact even the dead man's body seemed to have disappeared with the police pathologist and local morgue director having no idea where he went!

It becomes very obvious to Donovan that not only was Phillips murdered but the entire town from Sheriff Larry Best, William Bendix,on down were covering up his murder and even more shocking who was Mr. Phillips killer! As it soon turns out Phillips was without a doubt the most disliked person in Cleberg and everyone in town had a motive to kill him but the big question in Donovan's mind is who! It's in fact the luger that killed Phillips that soon appears out of the blue in Stu Weatherby's, Art Baker, house that sets off alarm bells to who exactly murdered Phillips! Found by Weatherby's daughter and Mr.Donovan's now girlfriend Anita, Barbara Britton, it makes it look like her father was in fact Phillips killer with Anita trying to hide the evidence to have him arrested and booked for it.

It soon comes out that the luger was in fact in the possession of a Doctor P.L Garrow a good friend of Stu Weatherby who gave it to him as a Christmas present just weeks before Phillips was found shot to death! Dr. Garrow being the most beloved and respected person in Cleberg is the last person anyone could suspect in murdering Phillips,the most hated person in town, but something very strange happens before Donovan could interview him! Dr. Garrow suddenly drops dead of a heart attack which makes his sudden and unexpected death, like that of Phillips suicide, very suspect to say the least!

***SPOILERS*** The end of the film ties all the loose ends together with both killer and victim never being seen as much as a second on screen even though they, at least Mr. Phillips, were the most most talked about persons in the movie. What happened to Phillips and who was in fact responsible for his death was kept from seeing the light of day in that by bringing it out in the open it would end up hurting far more people then it would help. And as for Phillips killer he was in no position to face justice in a court of law since he now was far far beyond it!

A community comes together

[AAdaSC · 6/10 · 4 November 2018]

Insurance investigator Dennis O'Keefe (Sam) arrives in a small community to confirm details regarding a payout to newly-wed Virginia Christine (Margaret) after her uncle has exited this world courtesy of Mr Suicide. However, it becomes clear that his death was no suicide. He was murdered. However, none of the townsfolk seem bothered to pursue this line of inquiry. Not even Virginia who would stand to gain even more money if the death was deemed to be murder. Why is everyone so keen to keep the details as a suicide? It's up to O'Keefe to find out what is going on whilst wooing local girl Barbara Britton (Anita).

I like the human sentiment of a community helping each other out even if it is against the law. The film's storyline is morally wrong but humanely just. And it appeals to me. William Bendix (Larry) is good as the town's sheriff who is carefully obstructive and Ann E Todd (Cathie) throws in some funny moments as Britton's younger sister. The film serves the audience with a warm, community feeling and this is helped by the Christmas-time setting.

However, what is the film actually about in the first place? I thought insurance companies don't pay out in suicide cases? So, there should be nothing to investigate and, therefore, no film made. Lose a point.

could be even better

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 25 December 2020]

Insurance investigator Sam Donovan arrives in a small town to close out a reported suicide but Sheriff Larry Best is less than helpful and the case is full of holes. The insurance does have a double indemnity clause which would result in an additional $20k payment if it's not a suicide.

This would work better if Sam's sleazy boss is more concerned about closing the case quickly as a suicide. Sam would be a man alone in the search for truth. He could be a man of integrity struggling in a morally murky world. It would make for an even better crime noir.

cover up

[mossgrymk · 6/10 · 4 January 2024]

Nice attempt to do a small town, yuletide noir (appropriate that it was made in 1949, perhaps this great genre's premier year). Problem is that it's just not dark enough. I mean, the last third of "It's A Wonderful life" has it beat seven ways to Sunday in the disturbing department. The villain, Mr. Phillips, (who we never see; good touch, that) is said to be a "cancer" on a small, midwestern community but we are given no specific or even general examples of his toxic crimes so that the full evil of this great adversary is never felt. Just contrast this vague stuff with the dirty, greedy, very specific deeds of Potter in "Wonderful Life" and you can see just how pitched to the too sweet end of the holiday film spectrum this thing really is, while purporting to be the opposite.

Still, Dennis O'Keefe (who co wrote the script, under a pseudonym) and William Bendix are good. Their sharp, cynical banter is the best part of the film, for me. And Doro Merande has some amusing throwaway lines as a glum housekeeper (did she ever play anything else?) while Barbara Britton is a welcome reminder that a curvy bod is not a crime at Christmas. C plus.

PS...Love Hank Worden, taking a holiday from Ford, as the village undertaker. His cheery "See you soon!" to O'Keefe's nosey insurance sleuth is my favorite line in the film. Movie needed more black humor like that.

"You know, you smoke too much. Try smoking a pipe instead of all those cigarettes."

[CatRufus5591 · 7/10 · 20 December 2021]

-Prophetic words from William Bendix to Dennis O'Keefe in 'Cover Up', a B-Grade noir film. Prophetic because O'Keefe, a heavy smoker, would die from lung cancer in 1968.

Average thriller with O'Keefe is a good time- filler, but I enjoy anything with O'Keefe in it.

Great support from William Bendix too. Enjoy.

This film recounts the story of the wealthy country doctor . . .

[cricket30 · 9/10 · 29 December 2020]

. . . who devoted his fortune to exercising his Second Amendment rights to collect a vast arsenal of vintage firearms which earned him the respect of practically everyone in his home bailiwick. Moreover, when it came time to tap one Marlowe County citizen to kick off the Holiday Season with a tree-lighting ceremony at the Courthouse Square of the burg serving as county seat, the honor of flicking the switch was automatically bestowed upon the beloved doc, a Santa packing heat to dissuade anyone from violating the Holiday Spirit. Naturally, the kind physician kept most or all of his shooting irons in working order, to serve the dual purpose of pest control against any Real Life Scrooges who were thinking about getting out of line. The one nagging fly in COVER UP's ointment is that many Americans do not enjoy the good doctor's economic privileges. Please remember these unfortunates during this holiday season by generously supporting your local chapter of BANGS (Broke Americans Need Gun Stamps).

Entertaining holiday movie that is not what it used to be

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 19 December 2023]

(1949) Cover Up CRIME MYSTERY DRAMA

Co-written and starring Dennis O'Keefe, he plays an insurance agent, Sam Donovan visiting on a case what was supposed to be a suicide. And upon Sam visiting the town's sheriff, Larry Best (William Bendix), he finds he is not being entirely cooperative. Along the train ride, he also meets a young lady, Anita Weatherby (Barbara Britton) he is attracted to who was visiting her family. And he meets the family who were waiting for her, while Sam was helping her with her luggage and packages. It is soon revealed that Sam's client did not exactly commit suicide but may have been murdered. And upon his investigation, he finds that besides the sheriff much of the townspeople are also uncooperative, especially after finding out that the weapon his client was killed from was from a particular gun, called the Luger.

This is my second viewing for I needed to re-watch it again for this review. I like watching this movie every time I forget what it was about.

"How Did I Know He'd Turn Out To Be Human?"

[davidcarniglia · 9/10 · 19 December 2018]

A great mystery, with a touch of noir. The small town at Holiday time creates as a mythic, folk-tale atmosphere. As another reviewer aptly said, the locals are like "pod people". The superficial cheeriness is most convincing in William Bendix's role as the sheriff. Everyone except for the protagonist Dennis O'Keefe, as Sam, and his local girlfriend Anita (Barbara Britton) is off a note or two.

The sprinkling of folksy humor, helped along by the Christmas spirit, make good counterpoints to the murder cover-up. The fascinating thing is, after a labyrinth of detective work by the outsider Sam, we never really learn just what Phillips actually did to turn the entire town against him. Like the arbitrary nature of a folk tale, there's ambiguity, deception, violent acts--but no explanation. Evil simply exists.

Among the townspeople, Anita's in a unique position; even though she's part of a prominent local family, she's something of an outsider as well. The seamless way that her relationship with Sam begins and grows makes Sam's role more plausible. At any one time almost any of the principle characters are legitimate suspects. The gun as the literal and symbolic focus of guilt is a well-handled motif throughout. It's fitting that there's probably as many Lugers in town as suspects. In a way, it's sort of anti-climactic that the unseen Dr. Gerrow is the culprit.

About half-way through I was thinking it might be Anita or even no one at all--that maybe Phillips wasn't dead. The fact that Sam agrees, for appearances' sake, to buy the original premise--that Phillips' death was a suicide--maintains the town's sense of disbelief. Also, it keeps Sam in Anita's good graces. The fact that the town has covered up one murder makes the second death seem as unnatural as the first one. The mythic town is made whole again, the outsider will leave (perhaps with Anita was a prize, so to speak). But that's just something as a Christmas present, neatly wrapped up.

Back in Chicago, or anywhere outside of this version of Mayberry, there's a world that isn't predictable or controllable. Another way of looking at this insular world is to indict it collectively for Phillip's murder. In a sense, they all had a hand in killing him. Although somewhat fanciful, like their folk tale roles suggest, the characters aren't caricatures, and Cover-Up isn't a satire. Maybe Gerrow represents the town itself, revered and larger-than-life, whereas Phillips stands for the alien outside influence. Neither character is seen, but together they comprise the heart of the story. They're as much opposing attitudes as anything tangible; Phillips is described in the vague but horrific terms that sci-fi movies of the 50s would depict actual space aliens.

The question of who, Phillips/Sam or the Sheriff/townspeople, are truly the outsiders? I guess I'm over-thinking Cover-Up. But it is thought-provoking. And it's very well-acted, with convincing characters; it's paced very smoothly, and has a suitably devious plot. A must-see for mystery and noir fans. 9/10

Decent Whodunnit Has Pat Ending - Cover Up

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 7 November 2023]

Dennis O'Keefe and William Bendix butt heads in this small-town whodunnit about a man who supposedly committed suicide, but had half the town as suspects for his murder. O'Keefe is convinced from the beginning that there was no suicide, and goes about building a case for the most likely murderer.

A romantic complication arises because one of his main suspects is the father of the woman he begins to court in this small town, where everyone knows everyone. The film would have been much more dramatic (not to mention much more realistic) if the prime suspect had committed the murder. But the writers of the film take the easy way out, and pin the murder on a person who is not even a prime suspect. How convenient for a Hollywood ending. Would have been much more interesting the other way.

Biggest letdown EVER

[mls4182 · 4/10 · 21 December 2021]

This film starts out as a slow moving mystery, with a little romance thrown in. That's okay since Dennis O'Keefe has a great presence, William Bendix is always good and Barbara Britton is always lovely.

When we finally get to the reveal, it is all compromise and becomes a happy ending Christmas movie! It is entertaining and the leads make it entertaining but it is NOT a film noir.