The Corpse Came C.O.D.

ADELE JERGENS is a pampered movie star who gets a crate delivery that turns out to have a body inside it--a studio costume designer she had recently argued with. She tries to persuade newspaper man GEORGE BRENT not to tell police right away, but he does and the plot gets a little more absurd after that, with JOAN BLONDELL as another newspaper reporter looking for a scoop.

The comedy aspect is anything but subtle as Blondell and Brent seem to be trying to upstage each other for laughs as the story strives for a good blend of mystery and mirth. Since it becomes obvious early on that most of the comic elements are pretty stale, you have to pin your hopes that the mystery element will be handled a lot better.

LESLIE BROOKS is attractive as a studio secretary with she and ADELE JERGENS providing the glamor appeal as stunning blondes. As fumbling reporters turning sleuth to solve the case, Blondell and Brent try hard but are less than amusing as they look for leads.

The plot thickens with the murder of a studio publicity director, but the accent still remains on comedy until the merry mix-up is solved after Brent has several run-ins with the killer.

Not too bad as these programmers go, with the final ten minutes filling in a lot of background info that's kept "in the dark" for most of the running time. Brent proves his comedy flair needed some fine tuning but Blondell is one step ahead of him in that department. GRANT WITHERS makes a good red herring in a minor role.