Just what I expected

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Another reviewer nailed it, I think - a term life insurance policy is essentially a bet the company takes with a customer that says it will pay off if the customer dies. However a suicide turns the bet into a sure thing for anyone who INTENDS to die for whatever reason, be it terminal illness or one's conflicted desire to provide financial reward to a loved one. So virtually no insurance policy will pay off on a suicide, unless there's a provision that says otherwise.So right off the bat, the film started off on shaky ground because that whole idea kept distracting me throughout the story. As for the double indemnity business, I think Donovan's boss stated that it was a good idea to pursue the murder angle because it was good public relations for the company, a way to increase business based on the publicity of a doubled payout. I don't know, it doesn't sound like a sound business practice to me.But casting all that aside, the picture did a fairly good job of keeping the viewer on one's toes with the suspicious nature of the principal characters, especially Sheriff Best (William Bendix), who if this was a Western, would have all the characteristics of being in the pocket of the town boss. Other characters were quite intriguing too, I got a kick out of the Weatherby housekeeper Hilda (Doro Merande), surreptitiously offering investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) mysterious hints, and then burning a piece of evidence 'by accident'. Young Cathie Weatherby (Ann E. Todd) was a hoot too, can you imagine a teenager fascinated by insurance and mathematics? Oh, boy.Though the resolution of the murder angle is offered in a way that almost sounds plausible, I couldn't help thinking that this town of Cleberg was one dysfunctional little community. With one of the best kept secrets in movie history, the entire citizenry (at least the ones Donovan came in contact with) managed to stay silent about the Phillips case while strongly suggesting the investigation be dropped. I was pretty surprised actually that Donovan went along with the recommendation to spare the community's feelings by not revealing the murderer. By so doing, everyone else along with the sheriff could go back to pursuing their own life of Riley.

I am no insurance expert, but I thought that in cases where someone killed themselves that their beneficiaries did not receive anything. So why would an insurance investigator, Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe), investigate this in the first place? And, why would he try to prove it was a murder? I think this is a HUGE problem with the plot of "Cover Up"...unless I am mistaken.The story begins with Donovan arriving in town to do his investigation. Surprisingly, most everyone in town either avoids him or lies--and Sam is very tired of it. To make things worse, the Sheriff seems ambivalent when Sam's investigation shows that the man was murdered. If you can ignore the inconsistency of an insurance investigator trying to make his company pay out the biggest claim instead of the smallest, it is an interesting film. Not a great film but interesting and worth seeing despite its flaws.By the way, I wish the film had used a ballistics expert to consult, as the film made a couple mistakes I noticed. First, Sam fires a gun (to get a ballistics comparison of the bullet) and IMMEDIATELY picks up the slug with his bare hands. It would be super-hot--and you'd either want to wait a moment or use gloves. Second, one piece of evidence that Sam has that convinces him the dead guy was murdered was that the killer was left-handed. Well, I am a right hander in everything...but I shoot left. This is not too uncommon, actually, as you often shoot based on your dominant eye not your dominant hand.

In my book, this little non-studio production exceeds bottom-of-the-bill expectations. It's a good cast, a tight script, and an intriguing non-noir mystery. So why aren't small town locals cooperating with insurance investigator O'Keefe as he looks into a suicide or maybe murder. Surprisingly, the sheriff (Bendix) seems especially indifferent. Good thing the Weatherby's elder daughter (Britton) is there to brighten up his stay.The production does an excellent job blending the mystery ingredient with lighter moments and the romantic angle. I especially like the sparkling Britton and bubbly teenager Todd who combine with the others to make the Weatherby's a charmingly suspicious family. Bendix too excels as the laconic sheriff—just what is his pipe smoking angle. Then too, his verbal fencing with the persistent O'Keefe is unusually well scripted and performed. At the same time, I kept expecting one or the two to finally drop the fencing and take a poke. The ending, in particular, is rather surprising and unconventional for the time.Too bad the delightful Britton never rose to the top rank she merits. The screen lights up every time she appears. Nonetheless, this obscure little feature is the kind of sleeper that old movie fans, like me, take special delight in catching up with.

Isurance investigator Sam Donovan (Dennis O'Keefe) arrives in a small town to look into an apparent suicide. Almost immediately he begins to suspect something's not quite right here, getting no hope from the police, the absence of the gun, and no coroner's report, the evidence points to foul play, but can Sam get to the bottom of it?Neither bad nor especially good, Cover Up is the sort of Saturday afternoon picture that TV schedulers put on as a precursor to the main event. Very nice and intriguing mystery (backed up by a cool denouement) and characters nicely played by a capable bunch of pros. O'Keefe is fine and plays out nicely as a sort of Insurance Mackintosh Sam Spade, William Bendix is underused but adds a touch of credibility to proceedings, while Barbara Britton is the shining light of the film with a very watchable performance. Clocking in at just 82 minutes, Cover Up does just enough to have made it worth your relatively short viewing time. And it's set at Christmas as well! 5/10