Sunset Murder Case (1938) User Reviews

A lot better than you'd expect...and a lot more cheesecake

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 6 October 2010]

I am pretty amazed that during the Post-Code era that this film ever managed to be shown--and, according to IMDb, it was NOT shown nationally as local censor boards went ape at the plot as well as the brief nudity! Pre-Code (1934 and earlier) I could see such a film getting made--after all, brief nudity and salacious plots were not uncommon. But, after the Code was strengthened, films exactly like this one were to have been banned! Think about it--the film stars the famous naked fan dancer, Sally Rand! This is actually pretty interesting, as another 'exotic dancer' (Gypsy Rose Lee) also wrote a film and acted in a few during this supposedly sex-less era!

The film, however, is NOT all cheesecake and tease. Ms. Rand was a competent actress and the acting and production values were quite good in this little B-mystery. While not a great film, it was interesting, had decent characters and is an unusual curio. Also, while I watched it on my computer, I was surprised how much of Ms. Rand you could see--and on the big screen I am sure the audiences were having a grand time!! In a way, it's a shame they put in this VERY BRIEF nudity, as it tends to obscure the fact that this is a pretty good film and also detracts a bit from the plot.

rough around the edges, for a film from 1938

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 16 April 2018]

Last thing Sally Rand ever did. started in the silents, did a couple more talkies, then was done with hollywood. Co-star Vince Barnett actually stuck around and did a TON of talkies, right up to 1975. Sound, picture, and editing are all TERRIBLE, but I guess we're lucky to still have this one around in any form. When Sally does her stage act, the sound is so bad, it's distracting. Badly in need of restoration, but it's probably in public domain at this point, so it would have to be a non-profit that doesn't need the cash. almost useless to try to follow a story here... someone apparently murdered her father, and she's determined to track them down. Not sure what the heck is going on here.. be sure to watch the Dance of the Droopy Dresses about halfway through. Directed by frenchman Louis Gasnier; he had come to the US right when silents were starting in hollywood. he only made a couple more films after this one.... and probably his best known work was the un-intentionally funny "Reefer Madness". Skip this one... there's a reason it's rarely shown. More annoying than entertaining. thank goodness its over in an hour. Currently on Moonlight Movies channel.

Sally Rand Was the Lure for This Tepid Mystery....

[kidboots · 6/10 · 1 May 2013]

....and apart from her famous "Bubble" dance you couldn't really say she made a memorable impression. She was initially an ingénue in silent Westerns but found fame as a fan dancer when talkies revealed a lisp. She found a dancing job at the Paramount Club in 1932 and worked steadily for the next 30 years.

Grand National was a small independent studio that had the extraordinary luck, when first established, of being able to release two James Cagney movies - "Great Guy" and "Something to Sing About". Needless to say they were feathers in Grand National's cap - even though they were not the success Cagney had hoped for and he soon returned to Warners. After Cagney's departure they had to rely on Tex Ritter as their star offering. Grand National movies always featured strong performances from stars often on their way down ie Conrad Nagel and Eric Linden etc, but "The Sunset Murder Case" didn't quite have that pedigree - Esther Muir's main claim to fame was that she was once married to Busby Berkeley and Lona Andre's best feature was her dimples.

Sally Rand played Kathy O'Connor, daughter of a policeman who is found murdered along with gangland girl Nita (Andre) and, as in all these quickies, is given a free rein to hunt down the killer while posing as an exotic dancer Valerie!! There is another dance interlude but strangely, I'm not even sure that it was Rand. Her face was hidden all during the dance and when it wasn't she was completely camouflaged by palms. A more interesting character was the pun spouting singer Penny Nicholls (played by someone with the more appropriate name Sugar Kane) who got to sing "I'd Rather Look at You" and trade wise cracks with Dennis Moore which was the highlight of the movie.

The plot was pretty hard to follow - people were ruthlessly killed if they were going to squeal - but about what!!! The climax came when Valerie was lured to the guest house and put under the guard of thug (Vince Barnett) and jealous gun moll Lora (Muir) but it was easy enough for her to single handedly get the pair drunk and organise to be rescued by taciturn policeman Halton. In a view of the future, Halton was Reed Hadley's first starring role - he went on to become a mainstay of 1950s police TV drama with leading roles in "Racket Squad" and "Public Defender".

Poorly written "mystery"

[gridoon2024 · 4/10 · 19 May 2011]

I have to admit that I had never even heard of Sally Rand before watching this movie, so I had no idea that she was most famous for her two trademark dance numbers (one with a giant balloon and one with giant birth feathers). She performs both of them in "Sunset Murder Case", and it's probably no coincidence that these bizarre, almost hypnotic numbers are the most interesting points of the film. On the other hand, if you're looking for a good mystery, keep looking. There is no mystery here, no attempts to hide the identities of the people responsible for the murder of the heroine's father. But the script is so poorly written that there is no explanation about how the heroine also seems to instantly suspect who is responsible, nor for how she gets her "undercover" job at the prestigious nightclub so easily. The two "good" male leads are so nondescript that it's almost hard to tell them apart. But one point in the movie's favor is that it's very short (an exact hour). *1/2 out of 4.

Any Fans Of Sally Rand?

[boblipton · 5/10 · 17 February 2024]

When Sally Rand's police detective father is killed to cover up another murder, she goes undercover as a dancer to help crack the case.

Yes, that Sally Rand. She performs a bubble dance in a chiton here. She actually had a significant movie career, going back to 1924, more than thirty in total. This was her last. Between her presence, the original title of "The Sunset Strip Murder Case", and the collapse of Grand National, release was delayed three years. It didn't do her co-stars, including Reed Hadley and Kathryn Kane much good either.

What survives is an OK movie. Miss Rand does a total of two dances here, and it's certainly Code-compliant. Apparently Boston, which banned the movie, objected to Miss Rand rather than anything on screen. There's no mystery involved, just a matter of the big brains involved, figuring things out.

Only date Penny Nichols if you're desperate for a little change.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 14 July 2023]

A chance for the few who care to see bubble dancer Sally Rand who outside the Rodgers and Hart song "Zip" nobody remembers. She's a journalist investigating a murder who goes undercover as a bubble dancer (what else?) to track down who did it. This quirky Grand National programmer is short and sweet, featuring Henry King and his band, acerbic Esther Muir as a gangster's moll, Lona Andre as the unfortunate victim, Kathryn Kane as the dizzy Penny, Reed Hadley as the mobster, Dennis Moore as Rand's reporter boyfriend and screen funny man cast against type as Hadley's henchman.

I found this to be a passable, average time waster, with two weird dance numbers that come out of nowhere, some silly puns and your typical cliched character archetypes that are cut and paste into many movies like this. The audience has no suspense because they see the crime happen which makes it all about watching it all unfold. Rand is decent, but Muir gets all the good lines.

A nice little film from Grand National

[ricmarc2001 · 7/10 · 7 March 2005]

I must admit that I have a soft spot for the films of Grand national and their latter incarnation Producers Releasing Corporation.

That said,Sunset Murder Case is a nice little film although it is really not a mystery as you know early on who the bad guys are, even though it is a tad confusing as to what is going on.

Sunset Murder Case has nifty one liners and some nice dialog from some engaging characters, plus a not so bad musical number.

The main attraction of this film is Miss Sally Rand as the protagonist. She does a very nice dance number with her trade mark balloon while wearing a Grecian toga outfit, and later does what must have been her famous fan dance, although it seems to have been staged in Hollywood and shot with the camera in Cleveland, with palm fronds in between.

The main attraction of this film is Sally Rand, although the other players are quite good in their roles. The lisp that Miss Rand was supposed to have had is not noticeable in this film. The term ecdysiast was not meant to describe her or any earlier "stripper" as mentioned in the biography of Miss Rand in these pages, but was invented by H.L. Mencken at the request of Miss Gypsy Rose Lee as a polite description of her profession.

If you get a chance to see this film please do, it is a very nice slice of the past and the bubble dance will make it worth your while.