A Slight Case of Murder

Plot

Slight Case of Murder is a breakneck-paced comedy starring Edward G. Robinson as a tough but good-hearted bootlegger. When Prohibition is repealed, Robinson faces a financial crisis: His beer tastes so awful that no one wants to drink it legally. As an additional headache, Robinson is under scrutiny from the Law, which is waiting to slip the cuffs on him for the slightest infraction. He arrives at his rented Saratoga mansion with his wife (Ruth Donnelly), daughter (Jane Bryan) and adopted son (Bobby Jordan), only to discover that a killer has left four corpses in his bedroom. Robinson and his stooges are forced to hide the bodies before his future son-in-law (Willard Parker), who happens to be a cop, tumbles to the dilemma. Based on a stage play by Howard Lindsay and Damon Runyon, A Slight Case of Murder a just as entertaining in the 1990s as it was fifty years ago (please ignore a tepid 1953 musical remake titled Stop, You're Killing Me). Surprisingly, this film was not a favorite of star Edward G. Robinson, who felt that director Lloyd Bacon rushed through the material without taking full advantage of its comic potential. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Review

A Slight Case of Murder is a non-stop laugh riot and a brilliant parody of the classic Hollywood gangster film. Blessed with a screenplay that is not only flawlessly constructed but also drop-dead funny, Murder also benefits from a peculiar, quirky and, at times, surreal sensibility that makes it stand out from many other studio comedies of the period. The hand of Damon Runyon is clearly evident in much of the dialogue, but the trio of writers who collaborated with him on the screenplay have kept many of Runyon's bad habits -- such as an occasional willingness to go for cheap sentiment -- in check. Director Lloyd Bacon is operating in top form, almost as if he were competing with Howard Hawks to keep things moving in the most crackling manner possible. In the demanding lead role, Edward G. Robinson is delightful, a presumed tough guy who can't help but be a cuddly softie; no one handles the fish-out-of-water routines in quite the same way, and his offhanded way with a punch line is delicious. Ruth Donnelly is a stitch as his wife and Bert Hanlon has an amusing turn as Sad Sam the bookie. Unlike Robinson's cheap, bootleg booze, Murder just gets better with age. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast

• Edward G. Robinson - Remy Marco
• Jane Bryan - Mary Marco
• Allen Jenkins - Mike
• Ruth Donnelly - Nora Marco
• Willard Parker - Dick Whitewood

John Litel - Post; Edward S. Brophy - Lefty; Harold Huber - Guiseppe; Eric Stanley - Ritter; Paul Harvey - Mr. Whitewood; Bobby Jordan - Douglas Fairbanks Rosenbloom; Joe Downing - Innocence; Margaret Hamilton - Mrs. Cagie; George E. Stone - Ex-Jockey Kirk; Bert Hanlon - Sad Sam; Jean Benedict - Remy's Secretary; Harry Seymour - The Singer; Betty Compson - Loretta; George Lloyd - Little Dutch; Duke York - Champ; Pat Daly - Pete Ryan; Harry Tenbrook - A Stranger; Wade Boteler - 3rd Policeman; Joe Caits - No Nose Cohen; Ralph Dunn - 2nd Policeman; John Harmon - Blackhat Gallagher; Ben Hendricks, Jr. - 1st Policeman; John Hiestand - Radio Commentator; Carole Landis; Bert Roach - Speakeasy Proprietor; Myrtle Stedman - Nurse; Loia Cheaney - Nurse; Harry Cody - Pessimistic Patron

Credit

Max Parker - Art Director, Lloyd Bacon - Director, James Gibbon - Editor, Jack Scholl - Composer (Music Score), M.K. Jerome - Composer (Music Score), Leo F. Forbstein - Musical Direction/Supervision, M. K. Jerome - Songwriter, Jack Scholl - Songwriter, Sidney Hickox - Cinematographer, Sam Bischoff - Producer, Hal B. Wallis - Producer, Earl W. Baldwin - Screenwriter, Howard Lindsay - Screenwriter, Damon Runyon - Screenwriter, Joseph Schrank - Screenwriter, Howard Lindsay - Play Author, Damon Runyon - Play Author

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