"Murder by Invitation" is a poverty row murder mystery made by Supreme Pictures and distributed by Monogram. Except for the few leads in these films who were able to go on to major studios and have good careers, most of the cast of these films are little known beyond their time. The lead in this film, Wallace Ford, was successful moving into Television in the 1950s. Some others did the same, but for the rest, there were short and longer careers mostly in B movies of this type.
While the plot is a fair one and has some intrigue, the screenplay, filming and technical production are all lower grade. Some of the acting is wooden, and a couple of roles are corny. There's not much to recommend this film, except for the interesting mystery. One just has to be able to tolerate the holes, poor quality, weak script, terrible background music, and barely fair acting at the best. The script makes a couple of attempts at humor, but they are quite lame. Can anyone think of a more far out murder mystery film than this where a bumbling rural sheriff asks a newspaper journalist for his advice and hunches?
Here are some sample lines.
Nora O'Brien, "I still think you shouldn't attend this hearing. Suppose they make a mistake and try you. You know, there's two schools of thought about the sanity of columnists." Bob White, "Quiet."
Nora O'Brien,, "Don't you worry about a thing, Aunt Cassie." Cassandra Denham, "Why should I worry? I'm the only sane person in a family of nuts."
Nora O'Brien, "I don't like this, Sherlock." Bob White, "Chin up, Watson."
While the plot is a fair one and has some intrigue, the screenplay, filming and technical production are all lower grade. Some of the acting is wooden, and a couple of roles are corny. There's not much to recommend this film, except for the interesting mystery. One just has to be able to tolerate the holes, poor quality, weak script, terrible background music, and barely fair acting at the best. The script makes a couple of attempts at humor, but they are quite lame. Can anyone think of a more far out murder mystery film than this where a bumbling rural sheriff asks a newspaper journalist for his advice and hunches?
Here are some sample lines.
Nora O'Brien, "I still think you shouldn't attend this hearing. Suppose they make a mistake and try you. You know, there's two schools of thought about the sanity of columnists." Bob White, "Quiet."
Nora O'Brien,, "Don't you worry about a thing, Aunt Cassie." Cassandra Denham, "Why should I worry? I'm the only sane person in a family of nuts."
Nora O'Brien, "I don't like this, Sherlock." Bob White, "Chin up, Watson."