Waste of time

A lot of fun.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

I came here after watching Bowery At Midnight and being thoroughly entertained, I wanted to know what else I missed from Lugosi after all these years of the standard 30 or so of his films that are wildly known of. I also didn't want to watch something too good in case I wanted to watch something with my wife later, so Murder By Television was chosen as my next film to watch. It's readily available online along with 90% of Lugosi's films since those are public domain material. I'm surprised at all the positive reviews as this is one of his worst films I've ever watched. I guess those are from die hard Lugosi fans? It's not that Lugosi is all that bad, although his accent is horribly thick in this one and he's supposed to be playing a federal agent, yeah OK, but the rest of the cast is horrendous. What really struck me was that for a film made in 1935 it really plays like a film from 1929 or 30. I know it's only a difference of 5 or 6 years but the quality of the film products greatly improved in that time frame even for poverty row productions, just not here. I was thinking it was made earlier and not released until 1935 but Hattie McDaniel dates it to around 1935 I guess. BTW, her role is terrible as a stereotype black maid, oh my god, this film is bad all around, with one exception; it shows actual television equipment from the 30's! So if you are a tech geek into that it's worth viewing for that. I don't think the actual television pictures are real but I'm pretty sure the camera with the rotating sphere is as I read that was one of the methods used to achieve a frame rate. The trivia on this film says it is real equipment from the University of Los Angeles and worth twice the price of the film's cost! Watch it to see Lugosi I guess and for the very early Television equipment and expect to be underwhelmed by the rest. BTW, what was the running gag about the guy who kept getting thrown out? I never caught the punchline to that and the guy was in at least 3 scenes! I was thinking he was a reporter but there had to be some kind of punch line there that is gone from the prints available, although as bad as this film is even with it's jokes maybe that was the only joke. 2 stars (out of 10) for the TV history alone. Ranks as one of my least favorite Lugosi films along with Vampire Over London (1952) which is also unwatchable after 1 time. The Ed Wood Lugosi stuff is much better then this, that's how bad we are talking.

I am always amazed when I find yet another ultra-low budget film starring Bela Lugosi. While I do generally enjoy his films, they certainly were not 'high art' or very deep--and so many of them had downright crappy production values. Often it looked as if Bela would appear in ANY film provided the check cleared! You don't believe me, then think back to such horrid films as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, ZOMBIES ON Broadway, GHOSTS ON THE LOOSE (with the East Side Kids) and MURDER BY TELEVISION!!! However, often despite the terrible budgets and overall cheesiness of the films, they were still often fun to watch--or at least to laugh at due to their ineptness. Unfortunately, MURDER BY TELEVISION is that rare low-budget Lugosi film that actually is kind of boring and static. Despite being a murder mystery, the film is amazingly static and uninvolving. Plus, the roles played by Bela just seemed terribly written and bizarre--and not in a great way. The only major plus this film has that raises it to almost-mediocrity is the idea of television being a topic of a film as early as 1930. From a purely historical standpoint, it is an interesting film.

Murder By Television is one of Bela Lugosi's more obscure movies but at least it is available on video and DVD. I quite liked this.While doing a worldwide broadcast promoting that new invention called television, a man suddenly collapses and looks as if he could have had a heart attack. His death was certainly not caused by his heart, it seems he was murdered by a death ray. The police are put on the case and there are plenty of suspects...This is a nice little horror/mystery, even though a little short at under an hour.Watch it if you get the chance. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Bela Lugosi was always an underrated actor; capable of different types of roles. This a good Lugosi "who-done-it movie. Like Bela's "Dracula", this film lacks a musical score; however the acting is very good and Bela's performance will please his legions of fans. He doesn't wear a cape or tends to his usual "mad scientist" lab here. Instead, Mr. Lugosi dons a tuxedo for most of the movie! The plot deals with something that was only a dream for a lot of people during the thirties; television. It's interesting how much television was on the minds of many people in 1935. In fact, TV would have been a part of the American lifestyle much earlier had it not been for World War Two. "Murder By Television" shows a glimpse of what was to be as well as being a good murder mystery from the mid-thirties. Recommended viewing.