A Blueprint for Murder (1953)

Director:

Andrew L. Stone

Writer:

Andrew L. Stone (writer)

Release Date:

September 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

What to do about a suspected murderess who can't be convicted?

Plot Keywords:

Stepmother | Strychnine | Murderess | Poisoning | Murderer

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Whitney 'Cam' Cameron
Jean Peters	...	Lynn Cameron
Gary Merrill	...	Fred Sargent
Catherine McLeod	...	Maggie Sargent
Jack Kruschen	...	Det.ective Lt. Harold Y. Cole
Barney Phillips	...	Detective Capt. Pringle
Freddy Ridgeway	...	Doug Cameron

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16386) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Cedars of Lebanon Hospital - 4833 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The ship at sea is the same miniature model used for for Titanic (1953), which in turn was used for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Dangerous Crossing (1953).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Whitney 'Cam' Cameron: Where is Polly Cameron's room?

Good performances adrift in low key, second rate mystery yarn...

Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters perform admirably in this little B-film programmer that would have been perfect for a radio program like SUSPENSE.

The slender yarn concerns a man (Cotten) who suspects that a widow (Peters) has committed two murders in order to collect her husband's insurance--and now his nephew is in danger of becoming the next victim.

But their performances can't disguise the fact that Fox has settled for a tale which is really a detective yarn that expects the audience to solve the dilemma facing Joseph Cotten without giving any real clues or facts to bring about a solution. We never know until the final scene whether or not Peters is a murderess. Add to this the fact that the final confrontation between Cotten and Peters has no real payoff once the truth is revealed, thus ending the film on a weak and unsatisfying note.

One gets the "could have been so much better" feeling after watching this, wondering whether a better director or a tighter script could have salvaged the whole thing to give it a sharper edge of suspense and a satisfying climax. Certainly the script could have been improved with regard to the final outcome.

The performances of Cotten, Peters and Gary Merrill are top notch but Catherine McLeod gives a not too subtle display of actressy over-emoting that grates on the nerves. She stands out like a sore thumb among a cast of pros. Furthermore, director Andrew Stone should have had a better control over his material.

The shipboard scenes seem to take place on sets used for Barbara Stanwyck's TITANIC. Passes the time as a mystery but not quite good enough to recommend. Second rate.