Screams are heard in the night. When the police get there Edna Druce is dead. Diana Baring (Norah Baring) is sitting in a daze near the poker that killed Edna. Diana’s clothes are covered with blood. Diana has no memory of what happened. Both women were actors in a traveling theater troupe. They were also rivals. Supposedly they made up and Edna came to Diana’s rooms for dinner. Then something went wrong.
Diana is arrested and put on trial. Most believe it is an open and shut case. They maintain Diana is guilty. The Jury discusses back and forth until only one holdout is left. Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall). Menier is an actor and a manager. He still believes she is innocent but is brow beaten by the rest of the jurors. He finally gives in and allows his verdict to change to guilty. Diana is sentenced to hang.
Sir John is haunted by his decision. The more he thinks about it the more he believes that Diana is innocent. He enlists the help of Ted (Edward Chapman) and Doucie (Phyllis Konstam) Markham to go over the events of the night of the murder. Ted is the stage manager of the theater that Diana’s and Edna’s theater troupe performs at. It is also the same tour group that Sir John recommended that Diana join to get some experience. That fact also weighs on Sir John. If he hadn’t recommended she join the troupe, she would not be in the dire fix she is in now.
Ted and Doucie live near the theater and near Diana’s apartment. Discussing the night of the murder with Ted and Doucie he learns a few things that he did not know before. He also has Ted and Doucie take him around to their flat to discuss what they saw and to Diana’s rooms to see firsthand the scene of the crime. Sir John also visits Diana in prison to try to gain more information on what happened that night. Sir John believes he knows who the real killer is, but proving it is another story.
“Murder!” was released in 1930 and was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This murder mystery was the third talkie that Hitchcock did. Although not technically a noir it does have noir elements. The screenplay was a collaboration between Hitchcock, his wife Alma Reville and Walter C. Mycroft. It was based on a novel called “Enter Sir John” by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson.
I’m not the biggest fan of this movie. It starts out kinda slow and doesn’t really pick up until over half way through the film. That’s a long time to be waiting for some Hitchcockian suspense. The plot was a little on the mushy side. All the questions that Sir John raises would have been raised in court under normal circumstances. In the real world Diana would not have found herself on trial for her life since the evidence against her is of the utmost circumstantial.
Besides the plot holes, I managed to find a copy of the film that was not in the best shape which has a way of affecting the viewing pleasure. There are others out there that are a little better. I know Kino Lorber has a nice restored version. Of course you will pay more for it, but it may be worth it if you are a Hitchcock fan.
There are a couple cool things about the movie. It was the first to use voice-over. During the scene where Sir John is shaving, voice-over is used to represent what he is thinking. The scene was also shot with a live orchestra in the background. While the orchestra plays, a recording or John’s voice is overlaid. The flow of the movie and the style are a little rough but under the roughness you can see the potential that would become, with experience, and with the aid of innovations in the film industry, one of the most influential filmmakers in the industry.
Hitchcock’s cameo appears about an hour into the film. He and a woman walk by Sir John, Ted and Doucie while they are standing outside the house where the murder occurred.